Scale

Ingredients

1 T olive oil

1 package Beyond Sausage Italian Flavor, sliced into rounds

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp fennel seeds

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 small onion, diced

2 medium carrots, sliced

2 stalks celery, sliced

2 T nutritional yeast

2 whole dried shiitake

1 large russet potato, 1 cm dice

2 handfuls chopped kale

2 T cashew cheese

Instructions

Heat large stockpot over medium high heat, add oil and sliced sausages. Brown slices on one side for 2 minutes, add chopped garlic, fennel, and red pepper flakes. Turn sausage slices and cook for another 2 minutes, then remove from pan and set aside.

Add onion, celery and carrot, season with a pinch of salt, and saute for 5 minutes or until starting to soften. Add 2 quarts of water and 1 T salt or to taste, turn stove up to high. Once soup has come to a simmer, add potatoes and dried shiitakes, cook for 10 minutes. Add kale and nutritional yeast and cook for another 5 minutes. Turn heat off heat, remove shiitakes and add sausage. Stir in cashew cheese and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with warm, crusty bread.

Notes

I’m not a fan of store bought vegetable broth, nor do I want to make my own broth in a separate pot. The shiitake mushroom infusion, nutritional yeast, and aromatic vegetables combine to make a rich broth without needing an extra pan. If you have a vegan boullion like Better than Boullion No Chicken flavor, you could use that instead of the shiitakes and nutritional yeast.

If you can’t find Beyond Sausage or want to make this recipe more economical, homemade lentils or white beans make a great substitute, along with some extra garlic, red pepper, and fennel. Do not use a wheat gluten based meat substitute unless you are some kind of seitan loving masochist.

Finally, you could substitute the cashew cheese by using 1-2 cups unsweetened soy milk in place of some of the water, or you could make cashew cream in the blender with 1/2 cup soaked cashews and 1 cup water.

Gnocchi are just tastier potatoes and they add a nice texture to the soup, I usually use them instead of potatoes here.