It’s been raining a lot, so my vegan-for-a-few-weeks housemate Angel was in the mood for something like pea soup, but Cajun-ish. This rich gumbo-style soup is what she put together:
Angel’s Rainy-Day Cajun Style Vegan Bean & Vegetable Soup:
makes: a LOT
- 1 bag (1lb) dried black-eyed peas
- 4 cans vegetable broth +2 cans water
- 2 cubes vegan bouillon
- 2-3 bay leaves
- 1 can corn (or 2 c normal corn)
- 1 can stewed tomatoes (or 2 c chopped tomatoes)
- 8 carrots, chopped
- 6-8 celery ribs, chopped
- 1 white onion, chopped
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 to 1 whole bunch fresh parsley, removed from the stems and minced
- “lots” of cayenne and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 Tbsp hickory “liquid smoke” flavoring, to taste (find this near the barbecue sauce)
- 1 “Field Roast” vegan Italian sausage (or 4-5 Yves Italian “sausages”), chopped
Soak beans overnight (or place them and water-per-package-directions in a pot, bring to a boil, cover, and set aside for 40-60 min). Rinse out cooled beans, replace in pot with vegetable broth + water, bay leaf, boillon, carrots, celery, corn, and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then simmer 20-30 minutes, until beans are noticeably soft but not mush. Meanwhile, saute onion in oil.
Remove bay leaves and mix into pot o’ beans: onion, parsley, peppers, liquid smoke, and “sausage.” Simmer another 15 minutes. Serve with steamed brown rice and / or fresh cornbread.