Potato and Leek Soup is always comforting hot or cold.
I am not sure who first thought of serving a cold potato and leek soup but it turned out to be an awesome idea!
This is a favourite soup in our household. So I like that this recipe makes a generous quantity. At about 10 cups of soups, it would serve 6 easily.
It is quite rich so as a first course you don't need a big quantity especially if you serve baguette and butter with it as we do!
It also freezes well. Freeze it without the chives and when it thaws- give it a whirl in the blender to blend it nicely and serve. Doesn't get much easier than that!
I have made this in the summer, frozen it in a big Zip Lock bag and used it to keep my cooler cold on the way to the cottage! You let it defrost fully and voilà - you have a great summer evening starter or light supper.
Chef's Tips for Vichyssoise
- Use the best quality chicken broth available. Do not use bouillon cubes - they are too salty. The flavours here are rather subtle so if you have homemade broth that is best.
- You can substitute a good vegetable broth for the chicken broth.
- I sometimes use fresh tarragon as garnish instead of chives. Another French classic flavour!
- You can add a pinch of nutmeg if you want to add some nuttiness. I prefer it without but nutmeg is another classic addition.
- It can be made a day ahead easily - and it may even benefit from the extra chill time to meld flavours.
- The pureé can be quite thick depending on the size of your potatoes. The cream will thin it. If you want it thinner you can either add more cream or chicken broth.
- I always serve it cold but you can serve it warm if you like.
- It freezes well. Just thaw, reblend and serve with garnish of your choice.
FAQs
Russets tend to be the potato of choice to obtain the desired texture here. Having said that, any type of potato will still work.
You could use evaporated milk or whole milk but the soup won't be as rich or traditional.
Yes, you can make it up to a day ahead. I have actually frozen it and reblended it just before serving and it was great. I think you need to make sure you have used cream if you intend to freeze it.
Related Recipes
Vichyssoise - Classic Potato and Leek Soup
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Save Print Pin FacebookIngredients
- 1 large onion diced
- 2 Tbsps butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 large potatoes, peeled and diced preferably Russets
- 3 leeks, white and light green parts only sliced in rounds
- 4 cups chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup 10% cream
- chives for garnish
Instructions
- Heat butter and oil in a large Dutch oven.
- Cook onions over medium high heat about 3 minutes. Add leeks, sprinkled with the salt and pepper and cook another 5 minutes.
- Add the potatoes and cook another 4 minutes.
- Add the broth and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Allow mixture to cool until you can blend it. Use an immersion blender or blend in batches in a regular blender.
- Add the cream. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.
- Chill for at least one hour or longer. (Can be made a day ahead).
- Garnish with fresh chopped chives and serve cold.
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