8 cups grilled vegetables, (red onion, zucchini, red and yellow peppers, corn on the cob, asparagus, tomatoes)
4 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
pinch red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to season
4 cups Better than Bouillon no chicken or vegetable stock
1 – 2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 can full fat coconut milk, or 1 cup vegan cashew cream
2 tablespoons vodka
1 stick vegan butter like earth balance
4 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
Instructions
Wash and cut the vegetables into large pieces for grilling.
Grill the vegetables for a few minutes on a grill that is preheated on high. The goal here is to cook the vegetables until they have char marks and are al dente. They will cook a little more when added to the soup, so don’t over cook them on the grill.
Remove the charred vegetables from the grill and when they are cool enough to handle, chop them into smaller pieces.
Meanwhile heat the olive oil in a large saucepan or dutch oven over medium heat.
Add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Sauté to soften the garlic but not brown it.
Add the stock to the pot along with the grilled tomatoes (or canned if that is what you are using) and tomato paste. Add a few of the chopped onions and red / orange peppers but leave some for finished soup.
Bring to a slow simmer for 10 minutes or until the vegetables are all fork tender.
Remove the soup from the heat and use an immersion blender to thoroughly blend the soup until smooth, or transfer to a blender in batches and puree until smooth. Return to pot.
Stir in the remaining chopped vegetables (leaving some grilled corn out for garnish) and bring to a simmer.
Stir in the coconut milk (or cashew cream), vodka, and vegan butter. Once the butter has melted, check the seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed. Add more broth if the soup is too thick. Bring to a simmer.
Serve with the garnish of grilled corn and fresh basil.
Notes
If tomatoes are not in season substitute 2 – 28 oz cans whole tomatoes with juice. If using canned, the tomatoes will not be grilled.