Vichyssoise Recipe- A Chilled Creamy Leek & Potato Soup
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If you think that summer is not the time for soup, you have been misled, my friend! Vichyssoise is a delicious soup served chilled and is a perfect first course at your spring and summer dinner parties! Made with leeks, potatoes, and cream, it is pure perfection (and can be served hot in the colder months too)!
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Vichyssoise
The full ingredients list and instructions are found in the printable recipe card at the end of this post. I highly recommend reading the blog post all the way through so that you don’t miss any tips or substitution suggestions; to ensure that you have all the ingredients and equipment required, and to understand the steps and timings involved.
Vichyssoise, pronounced VISH-ees-WAHZ is a thick and creamy soup made with leeks, potatoes and cream.
The origins of the soup is up for debate – some food historians say that Louis XV of France (King from 1715-1774) was afraid of being poisoned and had so many servants taste the potato leek soup that, by the time he tried it, the soup was cold, and since he enjoyed it that way it became a cold soup.
Others say it is an American invention:
Louis Diat, a French chef at the Ritz-Carlton in New York City who grew up in Montmarault in the Allier department near the spa resort town of Vichy. In 1950, Diat told The New Yorker magazine:
… 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…
Wikipedia
The second story is quite interesting to me, as I learned how to make leek and potato soup from my childhood friend’s mum, who was American. The first time she made this soup for us, she told us to pour milk into it to cool it down. And I’ve done that ever since!
Whether you decided to eat vichyssoise cold or hot, one thing is for certain – it’s delicious! And it’s also really easy to make. Read on to learn how!
Ingredients & Equipment Used In This Recipe
While most ingredients can be bought in grocery stores, for your convenience, any specialized or notable ingredients (and equipment) needed for this recipe have been listed below and linked to Amazon or other stores if available online. The complete list of ingredients with measurements is found in the recipe card.
- Fresh Produce – Garlic, Leeks, Yukon Gold Potatoes, Chives
- Dairy – Unsalted Butter, Sour Cream, Heavy Cream (Double Cream)
- Chicken Broth/Stock
Recipes on The Purple Pumpkin Blog use both cup measurements and/or weighted measurements. American cups and kitchen food scales are handy pieces of equipment to have in your kitchen as it means you’ll be able to make all of the different recipes on my blog. I try to give American, imperial, and metric measurements in my recipes. You can mix cup measurements with weighted measurements, but never mix imperial (pounds, ounces, pints, etc.,) with metric (kilograms, grams, litres, etc.,).
More Recipes Using Leek
One of the hero ingredients in this dish is leek, so here are some more recipes using the same:
More Soup Recipes
Looking for more soups to make? Check these recipes out next:
- Instant Pot Creamy Asparagus Soup Recipe
- Roasted Fennel & Tomato Soup with Coconut Milk
- Authentic Greek-Cypriot Avgolemono – Egg Lemon Soup
Recipe Tips
- When blending hot liquids, don’t fill blender more than 1/3 full and make sure the top is properly vented to prevent exploding.
How Do I Make Vichyssoise?
Check out the printable recipe card below with full ingredients and instructions. Any demonstration photos do not print out to save your ink.
Vichyssoise
Vichyssoise is a delicious soup served chilled and is a perfect first course at your summer dinner parties!
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1-2 large cloves garlic, finely minced
- 3 large leeks, white and very light green parts only
- Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
- 4 cups Yukon Gold or Maris Piper potatoes, peeled and diced (approximately 4-5 medium potatoes)
- 2 cups chicken broth, preferably organic
- ⅔ cup sour cream
- ⅓ cup heavy cream (double cream)
- 3 Tbsp fresh chives, finely chopped
Instructions
- Add butter, olive oil, garlic, and leeks to a large saucepan set over medium heat. Cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, just until the leeks are tender. Do not allow to brown.
- Add the potatoes and chicken broth. Increase heat to high and bring to a rapid boil. Immediately reduce heat to just below medium and cover pan loosely with a lid. Simmer for 25-30 minutes or until potatoes are fork-tender.
- While the potatoes are simmering, combine the sour cream and heavy cream in a medium-sized bowl. Season with salt and black pepper, to taste, and stir to combine. Set aside.
- Remove pan from heat and cool for several minutes. Working in batches, if necessary, carefully transfer the contents of the pan to a high-powered blender. Cover and blend on high for 1-2 minutes until completely smooth.
- Remove lid and transfer the purée into a large bowl. Repeat the process with the remaining contents of the pan.
- Temper the cream mixture by adding 2 or 3 tablespoons of the soup to the bowl. Stir to combine.
- Add the tempered cream mixture to the pan with the puréed mixture. Season with additional salt and black pepper, as desired, and stir to combine.
- Allow soup to cool completely, then transfer to an airtight container.
- Refrigerate until chilled, approximately 3 hours to overnight.
- To serve, divide the chilled soup between four bowls and garnish with fresh chives. Enjoy!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 497Total Fat: 33gSaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 16gCholesterol: 68mgSodium: 580mgCarbohydrates: 46gFiber: 5gSugar: 6gProtein: 7g
This site uses Nutritionix to provide estimated nutrition. Nutritional information is always approximate and will depend on the quality of ingredients used and serving sizes. If you need exact calories and macros, please do your own calculations.
Make It A Full Meal!
You’ve made the starter/appetizer, but what about the rest of the courses?
Here are additional recipes to make a full meal for a dinner party or special occasion:
- Main Dish: Cast Iron Chicken Provençal with Tomatoes & Olives
- Side Dish: Garlic and Chive Cauliflower Mash
- Beverage: Watermelon Kiwi Cocktail with White Wine
- Dessert: Lemon Poppy Seed Coffee Cake
There are 500+ Recipes on The Purple Pumpkin Blog for you to enjoy – please feel free to check them out too!