{recipe} Creamy Apple-Anise Soup and Pumpkinseed Cheese

This ridiculously yummy recipe comes to us from Golubka. It’s already gotten a VERY BIG thumbs up from Venita, who seems to have become our Official Recipe Tester as of late!

Some foods have a distinct seasonal disposition. Ice cream for summertime, apple pie in the autumn, hot soup during winter, and roasted artichoke in the spring. Well, I have a feeling that this soup surpasses seasons. It’s both light and hearty and is just as delicious chilled as it is warm.

I often daydream about food and make up different recipes while doing things unrelated to cooking. Well recently, in the middle of a daydream, I got an idea for making a soup that would have nut milk for its base. I imagined a bowl full of soup that is “blond” and creamy, and became excited about the possibilities of the milk’s earthy flavour.

It took quite a bit of experimentation until I was able to minimize the ingredients to two simple companions to almond milk – apple and fennel. Combined with the milk’s nutty taste, the two bring a sweet and fresh presence to the bowl. The spice of chili and coriander deepens the flavour and ties the whole thing together with a slight kick. The use of nut milk instead of whole nuts makes for a much lighter soup.

Pumpkinseed cheese is a fairly recent discovery. The first time I made it, I could not believe what a wonderful result I got with so few ingredients. It’s a bit like a cracker. A cheesy, healthy, and delicious one. I’ve made it very frequently over the past couple of months. It’s simple, and works as a wonderful snack or part of a meal. I like to serve the soup with this “cheese,” but it’s very possible to pair it with any crackers of your choice.

INGREDIENTS (FOR ALMOND MILK)

1 cup almonds – soaked overnight
3 cups water
3 dates

INSTRUCTIONS (FOR ALMOND MILK)
In a high speed blender, thoroughly combine all the ingredients. Strain through a nut bag or double lined cheesecloth, carefully squeezing all the liquid out. Use 2 cups of the milk for soup, and if you have some left over, enjoy it with your breakfast or cookies. You can make these cookies out of the left-over almond pulp.

INGREDIENTS (FOR CREAMY APPLE-ANISE SOUP)

2 cups almond milk
1 fennel bulb – roughly chopped
1 large apple (any kind) – cored and roughly chopped, reserve 1/4 for garnish
1 handful fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 small chili pepper – seeded
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste

INGREDIENTS (FOR GARNISH)

the reserved 1/4 of apple – cut in small cubes
pumpkin seeds – optionally soaked and dehydrated for extra crunch
drizzle of chili olive oil (optional) – olive oil mixed with chili powder
fresh mint or cilantro leaves

INSTRUCTIONS (FOR CREAMY APPLE-ANISE SOUP)
In a high speed blender, combine all the ingredients until smooth. Adjust the salt and spices. Garnish with the cubed apple, pumpkin seeds, and a drizzle of chili olive oil. Before serving, heat up in the dehydrator or serve chilled.

INGREDIENTS (FOR PUMPKINSEED CHEESE)

1 cup pumpkin seeds – soaked overnight
1/4 cup purified water
1/8 cup lemon or lime juice
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

INSTRUCTIONS (FOR PUMPKINSEED CHEESE)
In a food processor, blend all the ingredients until smooth. Thinly spread onto Teflex sheets and dehydrate at 115F for 6 hours. Flip and remove the Teflex. Break into pieces and dehydrate for another 2 hours.

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PLEASE TAKE NOTE! We were psyched when Golubka agreed to join forces with uncooking101.com to bring you best of the raw and living food world! We LOVE (seriously) Golubka’s recipes and want to keep a good relationship with her. Out of respect for how awesome sauce Golubka and her creations are, PLEASE do not repost her recipe without her direct permission. You may, however, and we even hope you will, post the link to Facebook or anywhere you like to get your friends over to the recipe. Thank you!

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ANY QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? Just type whatever you have to say below. We’d love to hear from you, no matter what it is. Well, as long as it is related to the soup in some way!