Watercress Vichyssoise
Creamy and unexpectedly chilled, watercress vichyssoise makes a cool first course—or paired with a crusty bread, a satisfying light lunch.
Servings 4 to 6 as a first course
Ingredients
- 3 cups chopped leeks (about 2 leeks, the white and pale green parts only)
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 3 cups peeled, chopped potatoes, 3 to 4 medium (we used Yukon Gold)
- 1-1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth (see Kitchen Notes)
- water
- 4 cups roughly chopped watercress (about 1 large bunch—see Kitchen Notes)
- 1-1/3 cups half & half
- additional sprigs of watercress for garnish optional
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Clean and prepare leeks. Slice off root end and most of the green tops. Slice leeks in half lengthwise. Rinse under running water, fanning layers to wash out any trapped grit. Slice crosswise in 3/4-inch pieces.
- Peel and chop potatoes into fairly small chunks.
- Heat a large, deep saucepan over medium-low flame. Melt butter in pan and add leeks. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently—you want to sweat the leeks, not brown them.
- Add potatoes and broth, plus just enough water to cover the potatoes—I added almost a cup. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer the mixture uncovered until potatoes are almost tender, 15 minutes or so. Stir in chopped watercress and cook an additional 5 minutes. Add a little water if necessary to cover—I added another 1/4 cup. But the point is to keep the mixture thick, so the final soup will be thick and creamy.
- Remove from heat. After mixture cools slightly, place in refrigerator and chill completely, at least a few hours. Can be made a day in advance up to this point.
- Purée chilled mixture completely in blender or food processor in two batches and transfer to a large bowl. Stir in half & half and add salt to taste. Ladle out individual servings and garnish with watercress sprigs, if desired. Serve immediately.
Kitchen Notes
Our planned Sunday dinner fell through, so I divided the puréed mixture (without half & half) into two batches. I mixed half of the half & half into one batch, and it became two generous servings for us. The other batch will meet just such a fate in a day or two.
Going vegetarian. It's easy to make this vegetarian. Just replace the chicken broth with more water and salt. That's how the Julia Child recipe for Potage Parmentier is made. I wouldn't substitute vegetable broth because that brings a lot of other flavors to the party, I think.
Watercress. Because you purée the soup, you can use stems and all. Just rinse the watercress beforehand. Watercress is a sometimes overlooked herb—undeservedly so.
And by the way, it's pronounced vee shee SWAHZ. Louis Diat apparently named it Creme Vichyssoise Glacee, or Chilled Cream Vichyssoise, in honor of the town Vichy, where he was born.