Meatless Monday Vegan Roasted Wild Mushroom Chowder

Hello and welcome (back) to the Miratel Blog for another installment of our delicious vegan Meatless Monday recipe series. Miratel supports Meatless Monday as it encourages eliminating meat from your diet one day per week to preserve the health of our planet (and ourselves!). We consider our support of this great movement part of our CSR business strategies as it spreads awareness of the impact of our food choices on our environment.

Just because you’re making a vegan dish doesn’t mean you have to give up on your favourite cream soups during the cold months of winter. That’s why on the menu tonight is a vegan roasted wild mushroom chowder which comes by way of Leafy Greens and Me .

Ingredients (makes 3-4 servings):

Image courtesy of Leafy Greens and Me

• 1-1/2 lbs assorted mushrooms (cremini, shiitake, oyster, and chanterelle)
• 1 cup leeks, small diced (about 1 leek)
• 1 cup carrots, small diced
• 1 cup celery, small diced
• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp minced fresh thyme
• 1/2 cup pale dry sherry (divided)
• 2 tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp Louisiana Hot Sauce or Tabasco
• 8 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 2 cups baby red potatoes, small diced
• 1-1/2 cups cashew cream (see recipe below)
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Chopped chives for garnish

Method:

1. Prep mushrooms for roasting. Cremini: wash, remove very bottom of stem and slice thinly; Shiitake: remove woody stem and slice thinly; Oyster: tear into thin strips; and Chanterelle: remove any dirt with a damp towel, remove the very bottom of the stem and tear into strips. Note: Chanterelle mushrooms are very expensive about $19 per pound! You can use any combination of mushrooms you like, or just use cremini alone. I just wouldn’t use white button mushrooms because they lack in flavor.
2. I pan roasted the mushrooms in a large skillet with some olive oil and salt and pepper, but you can toss in olive oil and roast in the oven at 425 degrees for about 10-15 minutes until golden brown.
3. Heat a large dutch oven on medium heat, add a little olive oil, leeks and saute for about five minutes until leeks soften.
4. Add fresh thyme, garlic, carrots and celery and deglaze with 1/4 cup of dry sherry and cook until liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes.
5. Next add vegetable stock, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce and bring to a boil, reduce to medium heat and cook for about 10 minutes. Then add roasted mushrooms and potatoes and cook for another 10-15 minutes until potatoes are tender.
6. Temper the cashew cream into the soup (remove some soup and place into a bowl, stir in the desired amount of cashew cream and add the mixture back into the soup). Add the remaining dry sherry and heat soup through.
7. Season with salt and pepper to taste and garnish with chopped chives.

Cashew Cream:

• 1 cup cashews (soaked for about 4 hours if you have time)
• Water to blend

Method:

1. Drain and rinse cashews and place in a blender. Add enough water to cover cashews and blend on high until creamy. You may need to strain the mixture if you are not using a high-powdered blender.

A great tip is to keep soaked nuts in the refrigerator to help you make quick vegan meals. Serve this hearty and satisfying roasted wild mushroom chowder with some toasted crusty bread brushed with olive oil.

If you haven’t already, we encourage you to visit the Meatless Monday website and join us in taking the pledge today. Spread the word at home and at work and promote CSR business initiatives to make your green call centre, office, factory, shop, restaurant or salon even greener.

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Miratel Solutions is a Toronto call centre, eBusiness, and letter shop mail house specializing in professional fundraising services including telephone fundraising, online fundraising, lottery services, donation caging, donation processing and other donor management services. We are committed to our CSR business values in all contact centre services and mail house operations and advancing the missions of the nonprofits we proudly serve.