Vegan MOFO Day 27 - Soup's on!

Quite some time ago, I was at a restaurant and had this incredible soup. It was a cream of mushroom with green chiles. It has haunted my dreams ever since. I could not stop thinking about the intermingling of the robust mushrooms and the spicy chiles. The original version was chock full of heavy cream and butter. I wanted my own veganized version to enjoy. I thawed out my hatch green chiles and got to creating. When the soup was finished, it just seemed like it was missing something. I threw in 1/2 teaspoon of cumin and it was magic. This is a perfect soup to enjoy now that the weather is cooling off.

Hatch Green Chile and Mushroom Bisque

6 servings

1 Tablespoon canola oil
1 medium onion, diced fine
1 stalk celery, diced fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup cilantro leaves gently packed
4 roasted and peeled hatch chilis with seeds
1 teaspoon mexican oregano
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon hot chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
5 Tablespoons flour
1/4 cup dry sherry
4 cups hot vegetable broth or stock
8 oz package of cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 bay leaves
1 cup soy creamer
juice of 1/2 small lemon
2 teaspoons vegan Worcestershire Sauce

Heat oil in large heavy bottomed pot. Saute onions, celery, and garlic until onions are transluscent. Add cilantro and chiles and saute for 2 more minutes. Add oregano through cumin and saute until liquid is almost gone. Stir in flour until incorporated. Deglaze with sherry. Add hot stock, sliced mushrooms, and bay leaves. Simmer on low heat for 20-30 minutes. Stir in soy creamer, lemon, and Worcestershire and simmer for 10 more minutes on very low heat, do not boil. Serve with cilanto leaves as garnish (optional)

If you want to make this a more hearty soup for a meal, add one can of drained and rinsed black beans. This will up the protein content and fill you right up.

I heated this up for lunch today. It is even better after sitting overnight. I hope you love it as much as I do!