Vichyssoise: The Best French Soup to Capitulate to this Summer
Posted on 10. Jul, 2012 by Hichem in Cooking, Vocabulary
It’s the Summer season, you would like to eat something healthy for a change, but it’s way too hot for something like une soupe.
But not all soups need to be served at a high temperature: Take the vichyssoise for instance, which is usually served cold… Although, of course, “certains l’aiment chaude” (“some like it hot.”)
Historians of the culinary arts on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean claim that the vichyssoise is entirely their own, although Louis Felix Diat, the French chef living in NYC officially credited with its invention, confessed that he named it after his small hometown Monmarault, located near the city of Vichy in Central France (hence the “vichyssoise” name), which also happens to be close to where French actress Audrey Tautou spent her teenage years—probably eating a lot of vichyssoise!
At any rate, la vichyssoise is a thick creamy soupe de pommes de terre (potato soup) flavored with poireaux (leeks.) But if you are not a big fan of leeks (count me in!), then you can replace them with white onions.
→ Pour servir 6 à 8 personnes (serves 6 to 8 personnes):
→ The ingredients:
2/3 cup leeks, coupées finement (thinly sliced) 1 petit oignon (small onion), sliced 2 tablespoons beurre (butter) 2-1/2 cups potato, peeled, sliced thinly 2 cups bouillon de poule chicken broth 1-1/2 cups lait (milk) 1 cup heavy cream Sel (salt) Snipped fresh ciboulette (chives) or persil (parsley)
→ Directions:
First, make sure you clean very well the leeks. Cut off leurs racines (their roots) and the top green leaves, then cut them dans le sens de la longeur (lengthwise.)
In a casserole (saucepan) over medium high heat sauté sliced leeks and onion in butter, stirring constantly until tender, and making sure they don’t turn marron (brown), and if any leek or onion changes color then remove it, since the soup should be blanche comme neige (snowy white)—or at least close enough to that color!
Add les pommes de terre coupées (sliced potatoes) and the chicken broth to the saucepan, bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat, and faire cuire à feu doux (simmer) for 35 minutes.
Puree the mélange of potato and leek in a mixeur (blender.) Then add to it milk and cream, mixing the whole thing very well. Taste for seasoning (after turning off the blender, of course!), and add salt si nécessaire (if needed.)
Et voilà!
Now serve the vichyssoise potato leek mélange either hot or cold, and add chives or fresh parsley for style!
Bon appétit les amis!
About Hichem
