^[1]This cheerfully hued cold carrot soup can be the centerpiece of a summer meal, served with crusty bread or sandwiches, and a big salad filled with summer veggies. Adapted fromVegan Soups and Hearty Stews for All Seasons. ^[2]Photo by Michael Polito ^[3].

Serves: 6 or more

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 2 vegetable bouillon cubes
• 1 pound carrots, peeled and sliced,
  or sliced baby carrots
• 1 large potato, peeled and finely diced
• 2 large ripe tomatoes, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 teaspoons salt-free seasoning blend
  (such as Spike or Mrs. Dash)
• 1 large broccoli crown, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 cups rice milk, more or less as needed
• 1/4 cup minced fresh dill, to taste, plus extra for garnish
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• Vegan Sour Cream ^[4]or Cashew Cream ^[5]for garnish, optional

Heat the oil in a soup pot. Add the onions and sauté over medium-low heat until golden.

Add the water with bouillon cubes, carrots, potato, and tomatoes. Stir in the bay leaves and seasoning. Bring to a rapid simmer, then lower the heat. Cover and simmer gently until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Allow the soup to cool to room temperature. Discard the bay leaves.

Transfer the solid ingredients to a food processor, in batches if necessary, and process until smoothly pureed, then return to the soup pot. Or, simply insert an immersion blender into the pot and process until the soup is smoothly pureed.

Steam the broccoli in a large saucepan with about an inch of water until bright green and just tender-crisp. Drain in a colander and rinse briefly with cool water. Stir most of the broccoli into the soup, holding back a few florets for garnish.

Add enough rice milk to give the soup a slightly thick consistency. Stir in the dill, then season with salt and pepper. Let the soup cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until chilled.

Garnish each serving with a dollop of vegan sour cream or cashew cream, if desired, and a sprinkling of extra dill.

Here are more recipes for:

• cold summer soups. ^[6]
• making the most of carrots ^[7].