One of the tastier traditional French soups is the Vichyssoise. It is a thick and creamy puréed potato and leek soup in chicken stock, mixed with heavy cream or other thick dairy product (sour cream or even drained yogurt). It can be delicious either cold – the classic version – or warm.
Ingredients (serves 6):
2-1/2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
4 tablespoons butter
6 medium leeks, cleaned and cut into thin round pieces, white part only
1 medium white onion, sliced
3 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
2 Pinches of grated nutmeg – divided
2 Bay Leaves
1-1/2 to 2 cups sour cream or heavy cream
The traditional recipe calls for chives or sliced spring onion green tops (scallions) as a garnish, but I found that dill weed or fennel could add a more savory tone to the soup. Another variation adds cooked and mashed asparagus in the mix just before blending. One more possibility that I enjoyed in Thailand was adding 2 tablespoons of mashed frozen lemongrass to the onion and leeks as they finish cooking. You can get frozen mashed lemongrass at Thai groceries in the US.
Method:
Cook the potatoes in salted water to cover until just tender.
Melt the butter in a cast iron pot, and gently sweat the leeks and onion, tossing them lightly for about 5 minutes. Make sure they don’t color.
Add the boiled diced potatoes to the leeks, and mix well. Then, remove them from the fire.
Add the bay leaves to the chicken stock, and bring it to a boil. Discard the bay leaves, and lower the heat.
Add the leeks and potatoes, and simmer for 30-35 minutes until everything is very tender.
Season to taste with salt, pepper, and one pinch of nutmeg.
Put the mixture in a blender (you will probably need to blend it in two or more batches), and blend at high speed for 1 minute or until smooth.
Return the soup to the cooking pot, and whisk in the cream or other dairy product, along with a second pinch of nutmeg.
Check the seasoning and add more salt and pepper, if you like.
Return the soup to a boil. Then, reduce it to a simmer, and cook for 5 minutes. If you want a thinner soup, add more broth.
Transfer the soup to a bowl and chill over an ice bath, stirring occasionally. When the soup is at room temperature, cover it with plastic wrap, and put it in the refrigerator to fully chill.
To serve, top with chopped chives, sliced spring onion tops, chopped fresh dill weed, or fennel.
Manos Angelakis is one of the founders, the former Managing Editor for 25 years, the current Managing Editor Emeritus, and Senior Food & Wine Writer of LuxuryWeb Magazine. He is an accomplished travel writer, photographer, and food and wine critic based in Hackensack, New Jersey. As a travel writer, he has written extensively about numerous cities and countries. Manos has also been certified as a Tuscan Wine Master and has traveled to wine-producing areas in order to evaluate firsthand the product of top-rated vineyards. In the past year, he has visited and written multiple articles about Morocco, Turkey, Quebec City, Switzerland, Antarctica, and most recently the South of France. Articles in other publications include Vision Times and Epoch Times.
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