Recipe: Vichyssoise – Cold Leek and Potato Soup

This is a delicious French version of a creamy potato soup recipe. This soup is a little different as it is served cold.

The recipe calls for leeks instead of onions. Leeks belong to the same family as onions and garlic, they have a mild onion flavor and are not quite as potent as scallions.

This recipe uses crème fraiche or sour cream as the thickening agent, along with pureeing the potatoes. See our “Tidbits of Information” section in the right column if you want to make your own crème fraiche.

You can lower the fat of this soup by using low fat sour cream or substituting fat free milk (skim) for the sour cream. Thin with the milk until the desired thickness.

For a smoother soup you can put the puree through a coarse sieve.

This is a perfect soup to serve guests since it can be made in advance.

Enjoy!

Vichyssoise - Cold Leek and Potato Soup Recipe:

All you need:

4 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
6 cups of fat free chicken broth
4 medium leeks, trimmed
2/3 cup crème fraiche or sour cream
Salt to taste
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives to garnish
4 tablespoons of crème fraiche or sour cream for garnish

All you need to do:

Put the chicken broth and potatoes in a large pot and cook over medium high heat.

Bring to a boil. While potatoes are cooking, clean leeks under cold water. Dry and thinly slice leeks.

Reduce heat to a simmer and cook potatoes until they are still firm but almost tender (about 15-20 minutes).

Add the leeks, salt and pepper. Simmer for 15-20 minutes until leeks are soft. Stir occasionally.

If soup appears to thick, add more broth.

When leeks are soft, remove pot from heat.

Puree the soup in a blender or food processor until smooth.

Return pureed soup to the pot and add the 2/3 cup of crème fraiche or sour cream. Stir.

Let the soup cool, then chill until ready to serve.

Ladle into bowls and garnish with a small dollop of crème fraiche or sour cream and snipped chives.