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Creme Vichyssoise recipe

This classic soup is tasty hot or cold but it is classicly served as a chilled soup.

One thing to keep in mind when preparing cold soup is that it will need seasoning to be increased just a bit as cold food doesn't hit the tastebuds like warm food does.

This soup gets its flavor from a delicate balance of potatoes and leeks. Cream or half and half is added for a velvety mouthfeel (this is not the time to go lowfat!). Plan enough time ahead when making this so it can thoroughly chill overnight.

Getting all the dirt, grit, and sand out of leeks is imperative when making this soup. Leeks grow up through the soil and embed themselves into the leaves and stay there until you release the dirt with this method. To clean leeks, slice the leeks into 1/2" rounds and put them in a big bowl of cool water, Work the inner layers apart so the rings separate and the earth will release.

If you like cold soup you may like this Senegalese curried egg soup or these 10 soups for hot summer weather

Equipment needed to make vichyssoise

• Soup pot or Dutch oven
• canister blender (high speed is great for this-I use a vitamix) or you can use your nutribullet style blender and work it in batches
• wire whisk

Potato leek soup recipe

ingredients

• 1 pound leeks
• 1/2 cup yellow onion chopped
• 1/4 c. unsalted butter
• 1 pound potatoes peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes
• 1/2 tsp salt
• dash white pepper
• chicken broth (clear no visible herbs)
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 Cup cold half and half
• chives for garnish

Remove the roots of the leeks and trim into half inch slices going up to the medium light green point (reserve the tops for stock). Place in medium bowl of cool water and work rings apart so any sediment releases to the bottom of the water. Let the rings float to the top while the dirt settles to bottom of bowl. You should have approximately 2 c of trimmed leeks. carefully remove rings so the bottom sediment is not disturbed.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a soup pot or dutch oven. Over medium heat, sautee cleaned leeks and onion until soft and golden. This will take approximately 5 minutes. Do not let the vegetables brown or it will discolor the soup which should be almost white when done.

Add potato, salt, pepper and broth to vegetables. Bring to a boil and simmer covered for about 40 minutes or until potatoes are soft almost falling apart. Remove pot from heat.

Blend in blender in 2 cup increments starting at a low speed then medium speed for a few seconds so that it is perfectly smooth. Warm milk on stovetop or microwave just to the simmer point then add to the puree. Mix well with a whisk then chill overnight.

When ready to serve, stir in half and half. Garnish each bowl with snipped chives (drizzle extra cream for serving if desired).