^[1]This luscious and nutty broccoli soup gets a touch of sweetness from apple; peanut butter gives it a rich flavor. In my home, this has long been a fall favorite. Adapted from Vegan Soups and Hearty Stews for All Seasons ^[2]. ^[2]Photo by Mary Koebel of This is Vegan. ^[3]

Serves: 6 to 8

• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil or other neutral-flavored oil
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
• 32-ounce carton vegetable broth, or
  4 cups water with 2 vegetable bouillon cubes
• 2 medium apples, peeled, cored, and diced
• 1 teaspoon good-quality curry powder
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh or jarred ginger
• 2/3 cup natural peanut butter (or any other nut butter
  — this is really good with cashew butter, too)
• 6 heaping cups finely chopped broccoli florets
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• Chopped roasted peanuts for garnish, optional

Heat the oil in a soup pot. Add the onions and sauté over medium-low heat until translucent. Add the garlic and carrots and continue to sauté until the onions are golden.

Add the broth or water with bouillon cubes, apples, curry powder, and ginger. Bring to a rapid simmer, then lower the heat. Cover and simmer gently for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the carrots and apple are tender. Remove from the heat.

Transfer the solid ingredients from the soup to a food processor with a slotted spoon. Process until just coarsely pureed, leaving plenty of chunks of carrot. Stir the puree back into the soup pot. Or, insert an immersion blender into the pot and process until coarsely pureed.

Add the peanut butter to the soup, about half at a time, whisking in until completely blended with the stock. Return to very low heat.

Steam the broccoli in a saucepan with about 1/4 cup water, covered, until brightly colored and tender-crisp to your liking. Stir into the soup along with any remaining liquid. If you’d like, reserve a cup or so of the broccoli for topping individual servings of soup.

If the soup is too thick, add enough additional water to give the soup a medium-thick consistency. Add the lemon juice, then season with salt and pepper. Serve at once, passing around chopped peanuts for topping, if desired.

• Warm yourself up with more fall harvest soup recipes. ^[4]
• Explore other delicious vegan soup recipes at Soulful Soups. ^[5]