Creamy Vegan Mushroom Soup by Leslie Durso

It’s a gloomy El Niño day in Los Angeles and that makes it a perfect day to make soup! In my fridge I had mushrooms and leeks that needed to be used. I love a creamy soup, but I didn’t want to make it too heavy so I used a potato to thicken it instead of nut cream. I finished it with fresh chopped parsley for two reasons: I love the freshness it adds to any dish and I have the biggest bush of parsley growing in my yard I have ever seen! So, I kinda use it in everything. I loved the way this simple tasty soup came out and I hope you do too!

Creamy Mushroom Soup

Serves 4-6

3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 cup of diced leeks (2 small or 1 large), white and light green parts only

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 lb. crimini mushrooms (or a mix of wild mushrooms), sliced and halved

1/8 tsp. sea salt

1 cup diced potato (I used Idaho, but you can use white or red too), peeled

2 cups of vegetable broth (my favorite is the 365 brand at Whole Foods)

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

In a large pot, on medium heat, sauté the leeks, garlic, mushrooms, and salt in the olive oil for a couple minutes until they begin to sweat. Add in the diced potatoes and stir. Pour in the vegetable broth. The broth should just barely cover the veggies. Add a bit of water or broth if you need. Cover and simmer 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes fall apart when they are stuck with a fork and twisted. There are two ways to go from here: 1. Use an immersion blender to cream most of the soup or 2. Transfer to a blender and blend until smooth. Just depends on what you have and how creamy you like your soup.

Stir in the fresh parsley and serve warm with a salad and some garlic bread 🙂

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