Slice the leeks into rounds and rinse well in a bowl of cold water. Allow any grit/sand to fall to the bottom of the bowl then use your hands or a slotted spoon to transfer the clean leeks to a tea towel and pat dry.
1 small leek (white + pale green parts only or 1 onion)
Preheat a heavy stock up over medium low heat with a light drizzle of olive oil. Sauté the leeks (or onion) with a pinch of salt until softened and translucent, about 15 minutes.
1 small leek (white + pale green parts only or 1 onion)
Add the carrots and celery and give everything a nice toss. Cover with a lid and sweat a few more minutes until the carrots begin to soften.
1 carrot, 1 celery rib
Add the garlic, turmeric, potatoes, cashews and vegetable stock. Bring everything to a simmer, stir in the nutritional yeast, cover with a lid and cook about 20 minutes until the potatoes and cashews have softened.
4 cloves garlic, 2 lb golden potatoes, 7 cups vegetable stock or water, 5 Tbsp nutritional yeast, 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1 cup raw cashew pieces
Carefully transfer the soup to a powerful blender and purée until silky smooth. (the Vitamix did an exponentially better job at this than my immersion blender).
Transfer the creamy soup back to the pot and bring to a simmer again. Add the broccoli florets or green beans, cover with a lid and cook a few more minutes until the broccoli is softened to your liking. Alternatively while your soup is cooking you can steam the vegetables to perfection then add them into the soup.
1 lb broccoli florets or green beans
Taste and adjust seasoning with the sea salt. Add more vegetable stock at this point to thin out the soup if you prefer and serve with a pinch of red pepper flakes and black pepper.
1 pinch sea salt, 1 pinch red pepper flakes