Crème Vichyssoise Glacée (Chilled leek and potato soup)

From Bistro: Great French Food, David Bransgrove, New Holland, 2011.

With a visit to France in the offing I thought I’d better do a little bit of French cooking. And with a sudden burst of warm weather after winter I decided on a chilled soup.

Two leeks finely sliced (white part only) and a chopped onion were cooked over a low heat in a little butter. The lid was placed on the saucepan and the cooking continued until the vegetables were soft. Now a couple of potatoes were added with a cup and a half of water and cooked until soft. The mixture went through the blender. When it was puréed two cups of milk were added and it went back in the saucepan to be brought to the boil again. The soup was then put through a sieve and left to cool.

Now the soup had a cup of cream added, or was supposed to have a cup but I cut it back a little. It went through the sieve again, was seasoned and was placed in the refrigerator to chill. At serving time it was placed in chilled glasses and some chopped chives were added as garnish.

I must say I was not overly impressed. I realise it’s a famous dish but for me it was a bit like drinking a glass of oniony-flavoured cream. A day later the flavour seemed to have developed a little better and I enjoyed it somewhat more. On the third day the last of it tasted the best of all—or I was adjusting to it. I think I prefer simple leek and potato soup left with a few lumps in it and served hot.

Taste: ✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔