Viper Tomato "Bisque"

For christmas, I received an immersion blender, which is something I have been desperately wanting.  Although the vitamix is a miracle machine and I am still smitten with it after a year, it was always a hassle to ladle hot soup into it whenever I wanted a smoothly pureed, thick, creamy soup.  For my first recipe with the immersion blender, I decided to play around with tomato soup.  I love tomato soup, but my favorite type of tomato soup is generally filled with cream, which isn't really diet-friendly.  To revamp the recipe, I decided to veganize it and create a tomato "bisque" using tofu, a few cashews, and nutritional yeast (we call this stuff magical vegan fairy dust in my house - it's so good!).  Now, I am not sure that our recipe was 100% vegan, as I added in some white wine and I have no idea whether the brand I used was vegan friendly, but if you are interested in making the recipe and being 100% sure it is vegan, you can go to this website, which provides a handy guide to vegan wine (and other alcohol).

What you need:

• 3.5 lbs fresh tomatoes, cored and halved
• 1 14oz. container of tofu, drained (I used firm because that was all that was available, but I think silken would be prefereable)
• 1 small yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 1/3 cup raw, unsalted cashews 
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/4 cup dried basil
• 1 tbsp Emeril Essence Seasoning (or Old Bay)
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 dried red chile pepper, de-seeded

Turn the oven broiler to high.  Place your tomatoes on an oiled baking sheet and place them in the oven to broil.  Let them broil until they have blackened slightly (around 5-10 minutes) and then put them in the crock pot.

In a blender, add cashews, 1 cup vegetable broth, and the red pepper, and blend until you have a nice puree.  Add that mixture to the crock pot.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet on medium-high heat and then saute the onions.  Add the cooked onions to the crock pot, as well.

Dump the rest of your ingredients into the crock pot and cook on low for 6-7 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.  When you are ready to serve, use an immersion blender to make the soup into a beautifully creamy consistency.  Enjoy!  We served it with some hot, crusty bread, and it was a great way to stay warm and cozy on a cold evening!

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