Juicy tomatoes, sweet corn, fresh herbs, creamy avocado – these ingredients scream summertime to me. I want light and bright, cooling dishes that are easy to prepare and don’t turn up the heat in my kitchen. This recipe for a cool and creamy basil soup topped with a charred corn, shallot and tomato garnish (optional) is one of my high heat index favorites. Make the recipe your own and use any fresh herbs you have available. You’ll be surprised at just how creamy and indulgent the addition of cashews and hemp seeds add.
Creamy Basil Soup with Charred Corn and Blistered Tomato
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups raw cashews, soaked 4-6 hours
2 cups homemade vegetable broth
1 Hass avocado, peeled and chopped
2 cups fresh spinach, cleaned and chopped
1 ½ cups fresh basil leaves, cleaned and chopped
½ cup hemp seeds
2 T. lemon juice
1 tsp. sea salt or Herbamare seasoning
1 clove garlic
fresh ground pepper (to taste)
Directions:
Drain and rinse cashews after soaking. Prepare ingredients and set aside. In a high speed blender, add the cashews and broth and blend until slightly smooth. Then slowly add in remaining ingredients. Blend until completely smooth (this may require adjusting blending speeds).
Adjust seasonings as needed with additional salt or pepper. Transfer soup into container and refrigerate for minimum 2 hours before serving chilled.
To Prepare Charred Corn, Shallot & Tomato Garnish for soup:
Ingredients:
2 ears organic corn, husked and cut off the cob
1 cup organic cherry tomatoes
2 shallots, sliced thin
¼ cup basil, cleaned and chopped
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp. sea salt
Directions:
Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut corn off the cob, rinse cherry tomatoes, and slice thin shallots. Add to medium size bowl and toss with olive oil and sea salt.
Place corn, shallot, and tomato mix on baking sheet and place into oven. Roast for 7-10 minutes, only until tomatoes are blistered and corn and shallot are slightly charred. Remove from oven and cool in fridge until ready to serve, then toss with chopped basil directly before serving.
Use as a garnish for the Creamy Basil Soup
