Vichyssoise, cold, tasty and ready to serve with fresh chopped chives on top.

Around the year 2000, we invited our wonderful longtime Fire Island neighbors, Guy Musquere and Daniel Meyer – along with eight of their Parisian guests – to join us for a Bastille Day dinner, and since I wanted to honor them with something undeniably French on the table, Vichyssoise seemed like just the ticket for a hot mid-July night. Now, this was a particularly risky endeavor since both Guy and Daniel were true Parisian eminences of long standing, but what the heck, you only live once, right? What was the worst that could happen? (Until it was privatized in the 70s, Guy had run the French national aluminum industry arising out of Bauxite discoveries in French Equatorial Africa, and Daniel was in his third decade of serving as Chief Curator of Versailles – yes, that Versailles – and the author of the two definitive books about its architecture and furnishings, the latter being a truly extraordinary two-volume set, much of which was written right here in The Pines. Sadly, both Daniel and Guy are gone now, but they were truly astonishing people.) (http://www.amazon.com/Furniture-Collection-Versailles-Vol-Set/dp/2878440579).

Cover of Volume I of Daniel’s treatise on the Versailles furnishings of the 17th and 18th Centuries

Well, I’m delighted to report that the soup was so well received that almost everyone asked for seconds, and in the years since, you might say it’s become a regular part of my kitchen repertoire, and I try to do it at least once a summer. Over time I have refined it, but it has never failed to satisfy. It’s really not that hard, and I encourage you to give it a go, even if you have picky eaters. Once they taste one spoonful, they’ll devour the rest.

RECIPE: VICHYSSOISE

NOTES: Of course the main goal here is wonderful taste and texture, but a secondary goal is to keep it white. Even the pepper is white, so bear that in mind as you go, and if, as you are sautéing the leeks at the beginning, one or two bits cling to the side of the pot to the point of browning, remove them, so that when the sautéing has been done, there are no browned bits left to spoil the pure whiteness of your soup.

Also, if there is a secret ingredient here – that is, one that diverges from usual recipes but makes a huge difference in the end product – it is the little bit of bacon grease added at the start, which gives the vichyssoise such a silkiness that it is often the most commented-upon element of this dish. Also, in pursuit of that smoothness, try to avoid grainy potatoes, though a grainy white potato is preferable to a smoother yellow one, which would dull the color.

Finally, this soup should be served as icy cold as possible, so be sure to allow at least several hours for it to sit in the refrigerator before serving, or even make it the day before (it will keep for days). I always make way too much (about double this recipe) and end up putting a ½ gallon pitcher, or two, of it in the fridge, but somehow it all seems to disappear fairly quickly.

Ingredients:

4 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons bacon grease
4-6 large, healthy leeks; if small, maybe even more. Should have about two cups when done preparing for the pot (use ONLY the white and very lightest green parts that won’t add color the end product. Keep green parts to add to another soup or salad if you despair of discarding them.)
2 chicken bouillon cubes
4-6 medium white-meat potatoes
2 quarts colorless chicken broth (Caution: some packaged chicken broths add caramel to give it a brownish color and that will not do when whiteness is the goal. Check label before purchasing, or better yet, make your own broth :-).)
2 quarts heavy cream
Salt
White pepper
Chopped chives

Directions:

Prepare ingredients: Clean leeks thoroughly (to keep them white, growers pile dirt up around the bottoms of the emerging plants, so sand and grime can be really deep in the stalk) and slice only the white or very light green parts into rings about 1/8” thick; if you don’t keep bacon grease around, fry a few pieces of bacon to provide grease, then strain to get out any dark bits; peel potatoes and cut into pieces as if you were going to boil and mash them and keep under cold water until you need them to avoid oxidizing (will also help rinse away some of the starch).

Place olive oil and bacon grease in stock pot or other large (10 quart) pot over medium heat (note that I always use a gas stove and know what “medium” means to me in that context, but electric eyes can burn things in a heartbeat, so adjust heat to your own levels of comfort on your own stove).

Add leeks and stir constantly until they are completely limp and transparent and are just this side of leek mush, but without a speck of brown.

Add the two quarts of chicken broth and two chicken bouillon cubes and bring to a boil.

Add the prepared potatoes and cook until beyond tender and the sharp edges of potato pieces become rounded.

Remove from heat, and using either 1) a hand-held immersion blender right in the cooking pot (my choice and much easier/neater) or 2) a regular blender or food-processor (in which case you might have to do it in two or three batches and then return to pot), thoroughly blend until there no lumps and your soup base is as smooth as possible.

Return to stove and over low heat stir in the two quarts of heavy cream and salt and white pepper to taste and heat, stirring occasionally, until cream is thoroughly integrated, but do not boil.

Remove from heat and cool, then place in refrigerator for at least four hours, eight is better.

Prior to serving, chop chives and place a teaspoonful on top of each bowl.

Bask in praise.

That’s it. Here’s wishing all of you a terrific Bastille Day, and may all your summertime wishes come true!

© 2016, George Thomas Wilson, all rights reserved.