This is a delicious bay and thyme infused creamy vegan soup – the cashews provide the creaminess. It freezes beautifully.

750g portobello/chestnut mushroom (or a mixture of both)

1 onion, roughly chopped

2 celery stick, sliced

1 medium carrot, peeled and roughly chopped

75g plain cashew nuts

2 bay leaves

2 sprigs of thyme

2 tbsp olive oil

100ml dry white wine

800ml hot vegetable stock

To serve:

Chopped parsley, sourdough croutons

• Heat the oven to 170 c Roughly chop the mushrooms, stalks and all, and put into a very large baking tray. Add the cashews, bay and thyme, season well with salt and pepper and drizzle over 1 tablespoon of the oil. Stir well, and pop in the oven for 20 minutes

• Then trickle over the wine, give the mixture a good stir, and return to the oven for a further 20 minutes, or until the mushrooms are soft and the carrots are tender. Remove from the oven, and discard the bay leaves and thyme

• Scrape everything into a blender, adding the hot stock and blitz to make a smooth soup – you may need to do this is batches. Check the seasoning and keep warm until ready to serve. Serve with croutons and parsley