Vichyssoise
Vichyssoise is credited to Louis Diat, the French chef of the Ritz-Carlton in New York, and the technique is entirely French: the leeks are sweated without colouring so the soup stays pale, almost white. It is served chilled, which means one thing — season it more boldly than your palate suggests when it is warm.
Your own work in that: 0 min.
- Sweating the leeks 12 min
- Cooking the potatoes 25 min
- Blending 8 min
- Chilling 180 min
Step by step
0 / 5 doneSweat the leeks without colour
Slice the white parts of the leeks thinly and sweat them in butter, covered, over low heat for 12 minutes. They should soften and turn translucent but must not brown — one golden patch and the soup is no longer white.
Ingredients: 4 pcs leeks · 50 g butter · 500 g potatoes · 900 ml vegetable stock · 1½ tsp salt · ½ tsp pepper
TipSalt the leeks at the start — they release water and protect themselves from catching.
Pale, soft leek — no browning at all.Cook with the potatoes
Add the diced potatoes and stock, bring to the boil and simmer 25 minutes until the potatoes are completely soft. A floury variety collapses and thickens the soup by itself.
Ingredients: 4 pcs leeks · 50 g butter · 500 g potatoes · 900 ml vegetable stock · 1½ tsp salt · ½ tsp pepper
Blend until silky
Blend the soup in batches until completely smooth — about a minute per batch. For a restaurant finish push it through a fine sieve; with the pouring it all takes about 8 minutes, and it turns a good soup into silk.
Ingredients: 4 pcs leeks · 50 g butter · 500 g potatoes · 900 ml vegetable stock · 1½ tsp salt · ½ tsp pepper
TipDo not blend longer than needed — overworked potatoes release starch and the soup turns gluey. Fill the jug no more than halfway with hot soup and hold the lid down with a cloth.
A jug blender gives the smoothest texture.Stir in cream and chill
Set aside 4 tablespoons of cream for serving, stir the rest into the soup and season with salt, white pepper and nutmeg. Once cooled, chill for 3 hours. Cold mutes flavour, so once chilled taste again and add salt — the most commonly skipped step.
Ingredients: 200 ml whipping cream (30%) · ½ bunch chives · 1 pinch nutmeg
Serve with chives
Ladle into chilled bowls, add a swirl of the reserved cream and scatter finely snipped chives. Freshly ground white pepper on top.
Ingredients: 200 ml whipping cream (30%) · ½ bunch chives · 1 pinch nutmeg
Before you start
Warm too
Served hot, it resembles the French potage parmentier — a leek and potato soup. Season it more gently then.
Without cream
Replace it with coconut milk (the soup will taste of coconut) or leave it out and add 100 g more potato — the soup will be thick, but less velvety.
Serving
Vichyssoise is served in small portions as a starter. Chill the bowls in advance — the soup stays cold longer.
