Smoked Cheesy Potato Soup and Smoky Pimento Cheese Recipes

The other day, I wanted to create a cheese like spread to use on sandwiches and burgers. Several months ago, I tried the We Can't Say It's Cheese smoked cheddar spread and really enjoyed it. It is oat based and I have oats! I looked at the ingredients and based on what I had on hand, tried to re-create it. Their texture is much better than mine, but I'm pretty happy with how it came out.

The cool thing is that it actually set up overnight which I didn't anticipate. I see many variations of this in the future. Today, I was craving something warm and soothing, so I figured I'd see how the spread worked to create a cheesy base for soup. Earlier today I made a quart of veggie stock. I had 1 cup of white beans in the freezer and some potatoes on hand. This soup was delicious! It made two large servings. I am saving the other serving for my son. I had a big sprout and carrot salad on the side. What a great lunch!


Smoky Cheesy Potato Soup

1 T Vegan Margarine or olive oil
1 onion, diced
6 cloves pressed garlic
½ t chipotle powder or smoked paprika
4 c chopped waxy potatoes
1 c Smoky Pimento Spread ( recipe follows )
1 c white beans
4 c vegetable stock
½ - 1 t Tony’s Cajun Seasoning
¼ t liquid smoke ( or to taste , each brand is different )
2 t golden balsamic or other light vinegar ( Umeboshi vinegar would be the best option here if you have it )
Lots of freshly ground pepper
Scallions for garnish
Method:
Heat margarine over medium heat, add onion, garlic and a pinch of salt. Sauté for 10 minutes then add the potatoes, cheese sauce, white beans and veggie stock Bring to a boil, turn heat down to simmer. Cover and cook for 30 minutes. Puree with a hand blender. Now add Cajun seasoning ( or more salt ) and lots of black pepper along with the liquid smoke and vinegar. Cover an allow the mixture to mellow out for 10 minutes before serving.

Smoky Pimento Spread

1 c old fashioned oatmeal
1 T smoked paprika
1/2 c nutritional yeast
1 t salt ( I used chunky sea salt, you may need less if you are using finely ground salt, so start with ½ t )
1 T onion powder
1.5 t Dijon mustard
1.5 c water
1 T toasted sesame oil
1 t liquid smoke
1/4 cup  green olives
2 T olive brine
4 T olive oil
Method:
Over medium heat, place oats, paprika, yeast, salt, onion powder, mustard, water and toasted sesame oil in a saucepan. Cook for 20 minutes, covered stirring several times. Place the olives in a food processor and pulse to break them up. Add the oatmeal mixture and process for 3 minutes or until very smooth. During the last 30 seconds, add the liquid smoke, brine and olive oil  pulse to incorporate. Allow mixture to cool.

This recipe was created with frugality in mind, but if you had ½ of a roasted red bell pepper it would be a very good thing to add!

Finally, here's a pic of my sprout salad. I eat a lot of sprout salads. This one had spicy mustard sprouts and red clover sprouts. I topped it with a bit of my Queso and some toasted sesame seeds. So good!

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