Vegan cream of mushroom soup

Brush the mushrooms clean with a paper towel rather than dunking them in water; remove the stalks and set aside, set aside half the caps, and slice the rest.

Heat the stock pot on medium high with olive oil; add the roughly chopped onion and crushed garlic.

Slice the half potato, rinse and drain it to remove excess starch so the soup does not go goopy, and add it.

Add the mushroom caps and stalks, season, and cook until browned.

Deglaze with the vegetable stock and simmer on medium for ten minutes.

In the blender, blend the cashews, salt and pepper, a drizzle of olive oil and the water on high speed.

Add the soup to the blender; meanwhile saute the sliced mushrooms in olive oil with salt and pepper in the stock pot.

Blend the soup on high, pour it back into the pot with the mushrooms and stir.

Plate and finish with fresh cracked pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.