Skip to main content

New Potato-Corn Vichyssoise #SoupSwappers


Here we are at the September Soup Saturday Swappers event. Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm started this event and, every month, I get a new array of soup recipes to put in my to-try pile. And this month, Sid of Sid's Sea Palm Cooking is hosting as we explore soups featuring potatoes.

Sid writes, "Share your favorite soup that contains potatoes. Baked, Mashed, Red, White, Russets, Sweet.....as long as they play an important enough role in the soup that it wouldn't be the same soup sans potatoes."

I thought about all of the soups I love with potatoes: Spring-Kissed Seafood Chowder, Spinach Chowder, and King of Soups. But all of those were cold-weather soups and we are enjoying a warmer than usual Indian summer. So, I decided to make one of my favorite chilled soups for the event. But first, here's what the other bloggers made...



New Potato-Corn Vichyssoise
inspired by Laurey Masterton's
 The Fresh Honey Cookbook: 84 Recipes from a Beekeeper's Kitchen

Vichyssoise is a thick potato and leek soup that is traditionally enjoyed chilled. And, though it sounds French, it is - apparently - and American creation. Well, it's the invention of a Frenchman who was a chef at the Ritz-Carlton. Louis Diat recounted to New Yorker magazine in 1950:

In the summer of 1917, when I had been at the Ritz seven years, I reflected upon the potato and leek soup of my childhood which my mother and grandmother used to make. I recalled how during the summer my older brother and I used to cool it off by pouring in cold milk and how delicious it was. I resolved to make something of the sort for the patrons of the Ritz. 

Et voilà! I have had vichyssoise many times and always thought that there was something lacking. Masterton's addition of honey solved that problem; honey adds a sweet intrigue to this otherwise bland soup. This is perfect for an Indian summer picnic.


Ingredients
  • 1/2 C butter
  • 5 leeks, trimmed and thinly sliced
  • 1 small sweet onion, peeled and diced
  • 6 C organic chicken stock
  • 4 C cubed potatoes (I used a mixture of new red and Yukon gold)
  • 1 C sweet corn kernels
  • freshly ground salt
  • freshly ground pepper
  • 1 C milk
  • 2 C half-n-half
  • 1/2 C fresh parsley, chopped
  • honey for garnish (I used a local pine honey)

Procedure
In a large souppot, melt the butter and saute the leeks and onion until softened and translucent but not browned. Pour in the stock and add the potatoes and corn. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook until the potatoes are tender, approximately 20-30 minutes. Let cool slightly and puree in a blender. Return the soup to the pot. Pour in the milk and half-n-half. Cook over low heat for 10-15 minutes but do not let it boil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Fold in the parsley.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Chill completely in the refrigerator. To serve, ladle into individual cups, or bowls, and drizzle with honey for garnish.  

Comments

  1. I can't believe I've never tried vichyssoise. Who knew it was an American invention! It sounds delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is just perfect for the few warm days we are still having.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love that you gave the history of vichyssoise. Thanks Cam.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Quick Pickled Red Onions and Radishes

If you've been reading my blog for even a short amount of time, you probably know how much I love to pickle things. I was just telling a friend you can pickle - with vinegar - or you can ferment - with salt - for similar delicious effect. The latter has digestive benefits and I love to do that, but when I need that pop of sour flavor quickly, I whip up quick pickles that are ready in as little as a day or two. I've Pickled Blueberries , Pickled Asparagus , Pickled Cranberries , Pickled Pumpkin , and even Pickled Chard Stems ! This I did last night for an upcoming recipe challenge that requires I include radishes. Ummmm...of course I'm pickling them! Ingredients  makes 1 quart jar radishes, trimmed and sliced organic red onions, peeled and thinly sliced (I used a mandolin slicer) 3/4 C vinegar (I used white distilled vinegar) 3/4 C water 3 T organic granulated sugar 1 T salt (I used some grey sea salt) 6 to 8 grinds of black pepper Proce

Aloo Tiki {Pakistan}

To start off our Pakistani culinary adventure, I started us off with aloo tiki - potato cutlets. I'm always game for tasty street food. I found a couple of different recipes and incorporated those together for this version. Ingredients 6-8 small red potatoes, scrubbed 1 T cumin seeds 1 T fresh chopped parsley 1/2 t ground coriander 1 t minced garlic Procedure Boil the potatoes until they are tender. Drain and let cool. Mash the potatoes. Traditionally they are mashed without their skins. I left the skins on. In a small pan, toast the cumin seeds on high heat until the begin to give off an aroma and begin to darken. Remove from heat and transfer to a plate to keep them from cooking any more. Blend all of the spices into the mashed potatoes, then shape into small patties. If you wet your hands, the potato mixture won't stick to them. Heat a splash of oil in a large, flat-bottom pan. Dip each patty into beaten egg and carefully place in the oil. P

Meyer Lemon Custard-Filled Matcha Turtles #BreadBakers

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely bread by following our  Pinterest board  right here. Links are also updated after each event on the  Bread Bakers home page .  We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. This month Stacy of Food Lust People Love  is hosting and she wrote: "Your bread can be large, as in one big animal, or small - animal-shaped rolls. Use your imagination! Points for flavor and shape!" If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send an email with your blog URL to Stacy at foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com. Here's the animal-shaped bread basket from the #BreadBakers... Beef and Sweet Onion Dim Sum Pandas from Karen's Kitchen Stories Bird Bread Rolls from Ambrosia Easter Bunny Buns from Cook with Renu Ham and Cheese Elephant Rolls from Food Lust People Love Hedgehog Bread from Making Mir