Place the cashews in enough water to cover them completely and set aside.

Add the water, lentils, salt, pepper, bay leaves and cumin to a large pot and bring to a boil, then turn down to medium and simmer for 25 minutes.

While the lentils are cooking, peel and finely chop the garlic. To chop up the leeks, first, cut off the dark green parts and roots (leave the white and light green stem) then slice in half longways and chop into slices that are no more than 1/2 inch thick. Add them to a large bowl of water to rinse off any excess dirt and then strain and rinse.

Add about 1 tsp of ghee or coconut oil to a pan on medium to medium high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the leeks and garlic and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper stirring frequently so they don't burn. Cook them for about 5-7 minutes until they start to brown slightly and then remove from heat.

Drain the cashews and mix them with 1/2 cup of fresh water and blend in your blender or food processor until it becomes creamy.

After the lentils have cooked for 25 minutes, add the cooked leeks/garlic, cashew mixture, garlic powder and nutritional yeast to the pot and mix well. The soup should be pretty creamy at this point. Add the peas if you would like as well as additional salt and pepper to taste and cook on medium low for another 10 minutes, stirring frequently until the peas are warm and the flavors merge.

Top with a sprinkle of paprika to serve if you'd like it to look all fancy-like.