Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Vichyssoise made Simple

Potatoes and Leeks sweated in Butter, creamed, and often served cold.
Complexity Level:  Easy

A soup that is velvety, simple, and a true "goût de france"!

Seriously when I made this.... I kept saying, "Must... put.... bowl... down... to... blog!"
Vichyssoise made Simple
What You Need:
2 Leeks, chopped
1 Yellow Onion, chopped
2 tbsp Butter
3/4 cup Thinly Sliced Potatoes
Salt
Pepper
2 1/3 cups Chicken Stock (or Vegetable)*
1 1/4 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
*I make my own stocks, and sometimes use herbs.  Today, I used a poultry herbed vegetable stock, aka sage, rosemary, thyme....  What an amazing flavor enhancer and perfect for Winter!

To start, heat the butter, onions, and leeks in a sauce pan.  Do not heat to brown, but rather to sweat out flavor and soften the vegetables.  This is important, as browning the vegetables will change the flavor, and texture of the soup.  I say, add them to the pot and cook on medium low.  Stir every few minutes then let it cook down for 8-10 minutes.  Just keep on eye if they are browning, but if they are, it's because the heat was too high.  I like to add salt at this point to help sweat the vegetables and cook in the flavor.  I use fleur de sel or some kind of sea salt, a good hearty pinch!


Next, add the stock and potatoes and simmer to soften the potatoes.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  This will simmer for 12-15 minutes, so don't rush it.  Let the heat do the cooking.


Once soft, add the soup to the blender, cover, and puree.  Because this is hot, please be sure you are holding the lid to the blender tight.  Otherwise... you may wallpaper the kitchen in deleiciousness!

Now that the soup is velvety and smooth, blend in most of the cream (cold heavy whipping cream) and serve.  The cream will cool the soup, and the textures stay smooth and divine!  You can chill before serving.  Either way, once in the bowl, I like to drizzle some cream over it.  The consistency of the soup is so velvety and smooth the cream will sit on top, making a nice light drizzle over a seriously addictive soup!



Super simple and impressive.  The name itself sounds so elegant and difficult... yet the recipe takes hardly any effort or time to cook and even less to devour!


Make It Healthy:  Use a fat free half and half to cut back BIG TIME on calories and fat. 


I hope you enjoy! 
Merci mille fois!
I liked freshly ground black pepper on top of mine, but I've always been a woman of mystery!
Aimee Gonzalez

6 comments:

  1. I will say, I am obsessed with this and can't stop eating it! I also will admit, I like it warm, not hot not cold, warm. Maybe it's because its 32 degrees outside, or maybe it's cause i'm crazy.... but this soup is serious eats and I can't believe I haven't made it before. The hints of the poultry herbs made this soooo fitting for december/ january! But I am confident I could eat this any time of the year!

    I hope you all find yum in this! Enjoy!!

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  2. Side note #2: My husband is the WORLDS pickiest eater. SO today I made him try this. It took a ton of negotiating, but he finally tried a mL. Then another spoonful! He loved it!

    But, I asked "So do you like it" and he said "Yeah... But it needs bacon". BACON!? Ai yi yi!

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  3. This looks freakin amazing!! Another winner Aimee!

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  4. Thanks Shannon! It IS freaking amazing lol. I really prefer it as a warm soup, but I will say chilled makes it even more silky smooth!

    Happy 2012!!! Thanks for visiting BB!

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  5. I love leeks in soups! Your Vichyssoise looks delicious!

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  6. Thanks! It was absolutely even better tasting that looking, and I ate literally about the whole lot in 2 days. An accomplishment I am proud of, and would totally do again! Thanks for following! I ope you enjoy!!

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