
Leeks, basil and garlic from my garden. Mmm.
Vichyssoise is not only the simplest soup I know, it is also one of the best. It’s so simple I can’t really ‘own’ the recipe, as my vichyssoise is probably identical to Julia Child’s and Anthony Bourdain’s and everybody else’s too. Bourdain, incidentally, credits his lifelong interest in cookery to his discovery, at age 9, of vichyssoise. Read Kitchen Confidential. It’s a hoot.
The soup was supposedly invented at the New York Ritz-Carlton by chef Louis Diat, but I think it’s reliably certain that peasants everywhere boiled leeks and potatoes together since the plants were domesticated. Diat simply added cream and served it chilled.
Vichyssoise
Leeks (1 big or two small)
Potatoes (2 or three, depending on size)
Chicken stock (you can just use salt, but I like chicken stock)
Cream
Chop the vegies and simmer them in the stock for about 45 minutes until they are tender. Puree the lot in a blender. Add a splash or two of cream, a grind of pepper, and if it needs salt, it’s a good idea to oversalt it very slightly as dishes tend to lose their savor when cold. Chill it. It is so tasty I’ll drink it for breakfast.
You can, if you are a purist, use only the white part of the leeks, but I like the pungency of the green and the tint it provides. You can peel your potatoes and push the soup through a sieve to make it super-smooth, but I like the texture. You can garnish it with chives, which is traditional, but I never seem to have any chives. I can’t stand those little plastic packets of herbs you get at the supermarket. They cost about five bucks which is a lot to pay for what is essentially a weed.
sounds delish. too bad we live far away, cause i have bundles and bundles of chives in my garden……….. ;b
can’t wait to give this a try.
btw, is there a correct proportion of leeks to potatoes?
Well, I tend to eyeball everything, but I usually chop up one large leek or two small ones, and two or three potatoes. I add enough stock so they’ll simmer properly. I suppose I should add some measurements, right?
well, i consulted with julia child, but ended up pretty much eyeballing it myself. tasted great warm…looking forward to it chilled tomorrow. i even splurged on the “weeds” since they looked fresh…a rare thing for a supermarket chain.
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Thought you might appreciate this unusual presentation of vichyssoise … http://www.delish.com/food-fun/most-beautiful-restaurant-dishes?gt1=47001