Spooky Potato Soup

Ingredients:

• 4 cups peeled and cubed Idaho® potatoes
• 3 cups water
• 1 vegetable bouillon cube
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 4 pieces of pumpernickel bread
• 1 cup washed spinach and/or kale
• ¼ cup nutritional yeast
• ¼ cup cashews (soaked for 2 hours if you don’t have a powerful blender)
• 5 to 8 drops liquid smoke
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Add the potatoes, water, bouillon and garlic to a soup pot. Bring to a boil over high heat, and then turn to medium. Simmer until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork, about 10 minutes.
2. While the potatoes cook, preheat the oven to 350°F. Cut the bread into small squares (or into Halloween shapes using cookie cutters) and spread on a baking sheet and bake for 5 to 10 minutes, until crispy. Set aside.
3. Blend the spinach, yeast, cashews and liquid smoke with ½ cup of the cooking liquid. Purée until very smooth.
4. Mash the potatoes with a potato masher while they are in the pot. It doesn’t have to be completely smooth. I like it a little chunky myself.
5. Stir in the green mixture until completely incorporated. Serve topped with croutons.
   
   

Notes:

This recipe can easily be doubled!

Note: You can decorate with red bell peppers to make the monster in the other photos or use your imagination!