Creamy Vegan Corn Chowder

Place the cashews in a bowl and cover with water; allow them to soak while preparing the recipe.

Dice the onion and celery. Peel and dice the carrots. Place the onion, celery and carrots together in a bowl.

Mince the garlic . Peel and dice the potatoes. Place them in a separate bowl. Cut the corn from the cob, saving the cobs to simmer in the soup.

In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Sauté the onion, carrots, and celery for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and potatoes and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the corn cobs (broken into a few pieces, if necessary to fit in the pot), vegetable broth , water, soy sauce, smoked paprika, thyme, onion powder, garlic powder, 1 teaspoon of the kosher salt , and black pepper. Bring to simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then remove the cobs from the soup.

Drain the cashews. Using a 2-cup glass measuring cup with spout, carefully scoop out about 4 cups of the hot soup and place it in a blender, then add the drained cashews. Blend on high for about 1 minute until smooth and creamy. Return to the soup pot, then stir in the reserved corn kernels. Cook for 5 minutes until the corn is tender. Taste and the additional ¼ teaspoon salt (or more if desired). Serve warm.