I was the strangest kid ever. Besides the fact that I preferred Jacques Pepin on PBS over cartoons, my favorite vegetables were broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and lima beans. Seriously, what kid likes lima beans? Well, I did, and I still do. So when the temperature dropped a bit today and I decided to make soup for dinner, I channeled my inner child and decided on a lima bean soup. To make the soup creamy, I included pureed raw almonds and a bit of almond milk (admittedly, if I had raw cashews in my pantry, I would have used those) and at the last second, I swirled in a dollop of vegan sour cream that I freshened up with a bit of orange. The mint cut some of the richness from the beans, and made the soup decadent, yet refreshingly perfect for a cool spring night.

Oh, and before I get to the recipe, I wanted to thank Lauren for the award she passed on to me! Check out her mouthwatering recipes on forevernowandthen!

Lima Bean and Mint Soup (Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

1/2 small red onion–diced

3 tablespoons olive oil

2/3 cup raw almonds (or cashews or walnuts)

1 cup frozen lima beans

1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk

1 1/2 cups vegetable broth

1/3 cup white wine

salt

pepper

dash cayenne

dash cumin

dash thyme

freshly chopped mint

Orange-Cumin Cream (see below)

Method:

*Heat olive oil in medium pot over medium heat. Add onion and saute until translucent. Stir in lima beans. Cook for 2 minutes. Add pinch of salt, a few grinds of pepper, cumin and thyme. Add the broth and wine. Cover. Simmer for 15 minutes (beans should be tender).

*Blend nuts until smooth, add almond milk, blend until completely incorporated.

*Using a slotted spoon, remove a few lima beans from the pot (set aside for garnish). Add the remaining veggies/broth to blender with almond mixture. Blend until smooth (or use hand blender if you have one). Return soup to clean pot; adjust seasoning, add cayenne. Serve with freshly chopped mint, whole lima beans, and orange-cumin cream.

Orange-Cumin Cream

Ingredients:

1/3 cup sour cream (I used vegan)

1 teaspoon orange juice

1/4 teaspoon orange zest

a few grinds black pepper

a couple of dashes of cumin

Method:

Stir all ingredients until fully combined.