Crème Vichyssoise
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 6 leeks white part only, chopped
- 2 medium onions finely chopped
- 3/4 pound russet potato peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
- 8 cups light chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt I use Morton’s
- freshly ground white pepper
- 1 cup heavy cream
- freshly snipped chives for garnish
Instructions
- Melt the butter in an 8-quart soup pot over medium heat. Add leeks and onions to the butter and cook very slowly until soft — about 15 minutes. Do not brown.
- Add the diced potatoes, broth, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a brisk simmer and cook until potatoes are done — about 15 minutes.
- Allow to cool for a few minutes, then purée in a blender. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl and stir in the cream; cover and chill thoroughly before serving.
- Ladle into cream-soup bowls as a first course, or into larger soup plates for a main course. Garnish with chopped chives.
Notes
Makes about 8 cups, serving 12 as a first course or 6 as a main course.
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Vichyssoise was the invention of Ritz Carlton (NYC) chef Louis Féliz Diat in 1911. Diat’s recipe is based on his mother’s leek and potato soup from his childhood. In a book published posthumously, he wrote: “I suspect that some of the fins becs [connoisseurs] who order it would be much surprised to learn of its humble origins as my mother’s simple leek and potato soup. Casting about one day for a new cold soup, I remembered how maman used to cool our breakfast soup, on a warm morning, by adding cold milk to it. A cup of cream, an extra straining, and a sprinkle of chives, et voilà, I had my new soup. I named my version of maman’s soup after Vichy, the famous spa located not twenty miles from our Bourbonnais home, as a tribute to the fine cooking of the region.”