A classic vichyssoise probably introduced by Julia Child back in the butter and cream days. I keep those two ingredients to a minimum by using the lusciousness of Yukon Gold potatoes, cultured butter, and cream from pastured cows, hence the golden hue of my potato leek soup. German Butterball potatoes would also give the soup this color and depth of flavor.
This is the soup most asked for by Lewis. It has surpassed his love of butternut squash soup. He would prefer the texture chunkier but I love the super-smoothness of a complete pureé with a handheld blender. ***If using a full-size blender, always leave the top open a bit and cover with a kitchen towel while holding on firmly to prevent an explosion of very hot soup splattered all over your arms and face.
No need for complicating this soup with broth. Just allow these simple ingredients to sing acapella. I usually suggest substitutions such as onions for the leeks, however, it’s the leeks that make this four ingredient soup. If I was using an onion, I would add spinach, broccoli, or Swiss chard to offset the bite of the onion. White pepper is preferred in keeping with the whiteness of the soup but I usually use black because that’s what I have in my grinder and white pepper is known for it’s bitterness by comparison.
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 large leeks, white and yellow parts only, sliced ½-inch thick
- 6 large Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and sliced ¼ to ½-inch thick
- 5 to 6 cups water
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground white or black pepper
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- Heat butter in a large pot over medium-low heat. Add leeks and saute, stirring frequently, until translucent and very soft. Do not brown.
- Add potatoes, water to cover potatoes by 1-inch, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat and then reduce the heat to medium-high and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until the potatoes are very soft and breaking apart.
- Remove pot from the heat and puree with a handheld blender until smooth. Stir in cream. Add additional water if too thick. Taste and adjust salt and pepper if needed.
- Serve topped with chives and blossoms.
- May be served hot or cold.
Unfortunately, this soup does not freeze well.
Re-warm gently once the cream is added. Do not bring to a boil.
I forgot to mention in my last post that I am the proud mother of four feral kittens. We trapped the mother just before birth and the adorable fur balls are now 11 days old. Not knowing their genders yet, their names are Doris (Lessing), Anaïs (Nin), Vita (Sackville-West), and Sylvia (Plath). Mama is named Virginia (Wolff). Any well-read feminists out there (or am I just showing my age)? When I separate them the next time I’ll send pictures.
We’ve only separated them once (just to change the bedding) because mama went extremely feral on us with all hell breaking loose when we shooed her out of the large cage. We cleaned up and placed the kittens in a new and larger cardboard shelter lined with a towel for padding and some soft flannel fabric to prevent their non-retractable claws from getting caught.
We left the room to allow Ginny to go back in because she remained in the window sill growling and hissing. Checking back two minutes later we found her still in the window sill but with a kitten gripped by the neck mewing in terror. Lewis donned heavy leather gloves and a work jacket and armed with a towel went into battle to retrieve Vita successfully. I asked Lewis to leave while I kept watch.
Mama was now on the other side of the room in an even heightened state of agitation and was showing no willingness to re-enter the cage while I was there. Then I thought of the studies of peek-a-boo and how children under two think that the person or object is not there if covered. I held the towel open in front of me and just peaked over the top to see if this theory would work. Ginny only hesitated for 5 seconds, quickly rushing in for another kitnapping. Success.
I’m so excited to be attending a fostering session at the Quakertown SPCA Wednesday evening so that these four sweeties will be healthy and ready to find their forever homes. Mama will be neutered and returned outside because she is showing no sign of being domesticated.
Happy Mother’s Day!
Sheila
