Ingredients:
1 cup of raw cashews
4 medium heads of garlic
4 tablespoons of olive oil
2 medium onions, sliced
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
4 cups vegetable broth
Directions:
Cover the cashews with water to soak.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Take two of the heads of garlic and separate the cloves but do not peel. Toss the cloves with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place in a baking dish and tightly cover with foil. Roast garlic cloves in oven until golden brown and tender, about 45 minutes.
Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a stock pot over medium heat and add onions and thyme. Cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Take the remaining two heads of garlic and separate/peel the cloves. Add vegetable broth and raw garlic to the onions, cover and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes. When the roasted garlic is finished, squeeze the cloves from the peels into the pot of soup.
Drain the cashews and transfer to a blender. Add just enough water to cover the nuts. Blend on high speed until it is a smooth consistency. Transfer the cashew/water mixture to a measuring cup—no need to clean the blender. Add the soup to the blender in batches and blend until smooth. Return the blended soup and cashews to the stock pot and combine, heating through.
Notes:
This seems like a lot of garlic, but it is by no means overwhelming. Peeling garlic is sticky business. An alternative is to purchase garlic cloves that are already peeled.
