Vichyssoise (Chilled Potato and Leek Soup)

By the time August rolls around, I am fully done turning on the stove for anything that takes longer than 10 minutes, which is exactly when vichyssoise earns its keep. I already have a small collection of warm leek soups on the blog, mushroom and leek soup (recipe on the site), pumpkin and leek soup (recipe on the site), celery and leek soup (recipe on the site), but this is the one meant to be eaten cold, straight from the fridge, on the kind of evening when even the dog is too hot to beg for scraps.

Vichyssoise has a funny history for a soup that sounds so aristocratically French: it was actually invented in New York, at the Ritz-Carlton, by a French chef named Louis Diat, who chilled down his mother’s warm potage parmentier, a simple potato-leek soup from the Vichy region, to please American guests sweating through a summer lunch service. So really, it belongs as much to this country as it does to France, which feels fitting for a blog written from an American kitchen.

The trick to a truly silky vichyssoise is patience at the blender and, if you want to go the extra mile, pushing the pureed soup through a fine-mesh sieve before it goes into the fridge. It needs a good four hours to chill through properly, so plan ahead, but the actual cooking is done in half an hour, most of the work here is just waiting.

Vichyssoise Recipe

Prep time: 20 minutes · Cook time: 30 minutes (plus at least 4 hours chilling) · Total: 50 minutes, plus chilling · Servings: 6 · Calories: ~210 per serving

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 large leeks, white and light green parts only, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
• 1 1/2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 cup heavy cream, plus more for serving
• Salt and white pepper, to taste
• Fresh chives, finely chopped, for serving

Instructions

1. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the leeks and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until very soft but not browned, about 10 minutes.
2. Add the stock and potatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 20 to 25 minutes, until the potatoes are very tender.
3. Let cool slightly, then puree the soup until completely smooth using a blender, in batches, or an immersion blender.
4. Stir in the heavy cream. Season with salt and white pepper to taste.
5. Chill the soup in the refrigerator at least 4 hours, or overnight, until very cold.
6. Taste again before serving, since cold soups often need a touch more salt than you would expect. Ladle into chilled bowls, swirl in a little extra cream, and scatter with chives.

Recipe Notes

• Vichyssoise was actually created in New York, not France, chef Louis Diat served it chilled at the Ritz-Carlton in the early 1900s, adapting his mother’s warm potato-leek soup for American summers.
• For the silkiest texture, strain the pureed soup through a fine-mesh sieve before chilling.
• White pepper is traditional here because it seasons without leaving visible dark flecks in the pale soup, but black pepper works fine if that is what you have.
• If you would like a lighter version, whole milk or half-and-half can stand in for the heavy cream.