Classic Vichyssoise

This classic is elegant in its simplicity but the choice of ingredients is critical. Avoid any temptation to substitute lower quality, pre-processed or packaged ingredients for the sake of time or convenience. Using half and half instead of heavy cream, processed potatoes instead of fresh, or canned chicken broth instead of homemade will ruin this dish. Remember: Bad Vichyssoise is like wallpaper paste but doesn't taste as good.

This is a great basic recipe for Vichyssoise, Priscilla. I used 4 leeks, added a bit more butter, increased the cooking time to 20 minutes in step 1 and to 1 hour in step 2. After the puree stage, I whisked in my heavy cream, and I used a full 2 cups to achieve the type of rich and creamy texture I am used to in this dish. I then covered and chilled, and garnished with chives before serving with Awsomely Easy Sesame Asparagus and Garlic Butter bread (recipes also on this site) for a fabulous meal last night. Thank you so much.

This was a great recipe for potato leek soup! The only change I would make is to add some garlic to the leeks next time. I also haven't added the cream yet, because it is cooling, and I'm not sure I need to; it's that good without it. I think this would be a great hot soup in the winter, it's nice and hearty and filling. I might finish it all before it cools enough to serve cold!

Vichyssoise is a classic minimalist recipe (it is American, not French) that should not be altered to make it taste like a baked potato by adding bacon and sour cream. Eesh! Nor is it served hot. That said, I think newbies should be reminded to soak and rinse well your chopped leeks to wash away the almost invisible sand in them. This can ruin a lovely soup.

Just a note about the history and uses of this basic recipe... Most people believe the chef who invented vichyssoise was French, working in America; his name was Louis Diat, working at the Ritz-Carlton in NYC. He based the recipe on his mother's leek and potato soup, which is an old French classic hot winter soup. His innovation is trying it as a cold summer soup. So, those who have (sensibly) tasted it hot and found how good it is, are just discovering a classic French soup. And yes, it can be bland, which is why the French often use herbs when making it. Note on the bay leaf, I graded this recipe down because it is always necessary to remove bay leaves before blending or serving and the recipe does not mention that. They can actually be dangerous. The only bay that can be left in is the powdered version (which does not last as long). My other objection is that the recipe should mention that leeks need to be cleaned carefully to get out any sand. It should also say "white part only" which is the most easily usable part.

EXCELLANT !!! I too, used fresh thyme I have a nice kitchen herb garden... Followed it exactly, served it cold with a nice Caesar salad, as another reveiwer suggested. Wonderful on a hot day, in response to Jenni...Chicken stock makes ALL the difference !! That's the subtlety 'under' the potatoes and leeks that makes Vichyssoise - Vichyssoise, LOL !! Try it for yourself with chicken and taste the change.

Our favorite French restaurant had Vichyssoise as the soup d'jour couple of nights ago. I loved it so much that it inspired me to make my own. This recipe was easy to follow and the soup came out amazing. Instead of a blender, I used a hand mixer right in the pot. The only suggestion I have is to cut the potatoes into small cubes because the hand mixer doesn't blend it as smooth as the blender so I had small chunks of potatoes and onions in the final product. My boyfriend LOVED the soup, he said it was better than some of the vichyssoise they serve is restaurants. ALL THUMBS UP!!!

This soup was down right elegant!!! I followed the recipe exactly, except that I had fresh thyme, that needed using, so I used 1/2 tsp of that. I tried some at room temperature and then gently warmed some. Personally, I like it warm. That little bit of cream really gives it a lovely velvety texture. Thanks for such a delightful and simple to prepare recipe.

I served this cold in shot glasses at my french themed coctail party. It was delicous cold. I had the leftovers hot with a salad and bread. YUMMY.

A very tasty soup. I enjoyed it warm. I would suggest fishing out the bay leaf before processing or eliminating it. Found unprocessed pieces in the soup while eating it.

I served it hot and it was great. Really, really yummy.

me and my family thought this soup was ok. but it was soooooo thick it was like gravy!! i had to add a TON of water to even get it to a soup consistency. it tasted really good though just way too thick.

I love the use of bay leaf, thyme and marjoram in this recipe. Instead of whipping cream, I used fat-free half-and-half to thin the soup to proper consistency and then served the soup in small cups with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of snipped chives. Delightful!

The saying "If it's not broken, don't fix it" comes to mind making this. Made as it supposed to be made, it's simply delicious. Altering it with various ingredient substitutions and/or additions it's no longer "Classic Vichyssoise", but rather a completely different potato soup.

Tastes great, plus pretty easy to pull together. Freezes well (just reheat thoroughly and slowly). Looks good with unpeeled, red-skinned potatoes mixed in to it.

OK I think I butchered this recipe. I didn't have a blender or food processor so I strained it. Haha. It came out super smooth. I think I'll serve the pulp hot. It's kind of like mashed potatoes...or gourmet baby food. Perfect for my dinner guest tonight who just had her wisdom teeth out! Oh I forgot to mention that I decided to add green food colouring to make it look more "leeky". I am so not helpful. I'm sorry.

This was a good potato and leek soup. I did have problems, however, with the amount of butter called for. I did not feel like 1 tablespoon of butter was sufficient enough to stop the leeks, onions and potatos from sticking to the bottom of the pan. I ended up putting olive oil in so that they would not stick (butter would have been better, but a bit too high in calories). At the end, I puréed this soup with an immersion blender and topped it of with sea salt. I served warm with heavy cream mixed in the soup.

excellent

Delicious!! I put this soup into jars for some cast members at our cast party for "Nunsense" since the show mentioned Vichychoise in it!! It was a hit with everyone - well done and I will make it again!! My boyfriend had a bowl of it before canning and he said it was fabulous!!

quick and easy I doubled it, just because some left-over are a good thing!

This was good but I will probably try a different recipe. I made as a pair to a two tone soup. The other was an avacado soup. I ate it hot and added a tad of Olive Oil. I think the color problems others had were becasue they carmelized the onions. I added the stock alittle early I was tired of stirring. The avacado soup called for white pepper so I added a touch.

This is good soup, but could be better in my opinion. Fresh garlic would add a lot. I resisted the urge to change it before making it as the original recipe states and I'm a little disappointed that I didn't listen to my gut and add the garlic. It could just be a personal preference though, which is why I didn't lower the rating.

4.5 Broke the tradition of cold soup as I don't like my soup cold, LOVELY as hot soup! Made this again and was out of majoram so internet suggested basil as a subsitute. Also did not add cream or milk this time and I think it was even better!! (most likely as I added a bit of garlic to the leek/onion mix)

Used fresh thyme and oregano (instead of marjoram). This is a very simple, yet delicious, recipe, especially if you have an immersion blender.

This was the worst Vichyssoise recipe I've ever made. I was interested in it because of the extra herbs, which are not typical in traditional Vichyssoise. I also liked it because it was lower in calories. The potatoes were overwhelming, the onion was not needed, and there was not enough cream to make it silky. Traditional Vichyssoise only needs leeks, potatos, stock,heavy cream, and salt and pepper to taste!!! I suggest Anthony Bourdains recipe

This did not turn out AT ALL. i changed the chicken stock to vegetable stock since i was serving vegetarians... but it shouldn't have made that big of a difference.... It tasted alright, but nothing at all what i was expecting or imagine it is supposed to taste like. And it was certainly the wrong color all together...

it was quick and easy i made it early so id have time for the rest of the dayall i needed to do was heat it up

Perfect recipe. The only problem is that I didn't get to try it chilled since it was all gobbled up before it cooled down!

Tried this tonight, and was actually looking forward to cooking it all week. It is absolutely delicious, I added two mushrooms and some garlic. But otherwise, this was well worth it. And it smelled (and tasted great) steaming hot. Thanks or sharing. My wife and I really enjoyed it.

Did not peel potatoes. Excellent with herbs and chives n top

This soup is supposed to be a cold soup by its is much better warm and alone it is ok but if you add a meat such as ham to the soup it will taste much better

Elegant and excellent! Compared to other vichyssoises, this one uses very little cream and is much lower in fat. Honestly, it is so rich ‘n creamy and loaded with flavor that it doesn’t even need the cream. Will definitely be making this again and again.

Oh my gosh, this was amazing! My dad can't have milk, though, so I used bacon in it instead of cream.

Originally, I left the sliced potatoes out for a few hours and they oxidized/discolored, but it still worked. I was surprised how much the leeks yielded after chopping, but they cooked down quickly in the first 12 minutes. I did not use authentic chicken broth and instead mixed instant in a pinch. Travesty I know, but it still tasted savory and the grainy puréed consistency coated the ladle and hung onto my tongue as I parsed the bowl with my spoon. The best surprise was the soup reconstituted well, after fridged in Tupperware. Although I got terrible gas five hours after eating three bowls post an 18 hour fast and nothing else, this recipe has what it takes to lighten the spirit and provide a savory preamble to any meal. Just don’t fluff the covers.

It was great! I used yellow potatoes and half and half. The only disappointing part was reading some food snob out of work chefs Reveiws telling people not to substitute! It's a cooking site I really don't think channelling inner Gordon Ramsey is warranted!

I added freshly chopped dill. Don't like marjoram flavor. Otherwise, pretty good.

Great recipe. Used fresh potatoes and leek. Used organic chicken stock and added more thyme, a dash of oregano, and ham chunks (reducing the amount of salt).

This was good but I will probably try a different recipe. I made as a pair to a two tone soup. The other was an avacado soup. I ate it hot and added a tad of Olive Oil. I think the color problems others had were becasue they carmelized the onions. I added the stock alittle early I was tired of stirring. The avacado soup called for white pepper so I added a touch.

To me this was very bland. I had to add quite a bit of salt, which I didn't expect to be necessary since the broth is salty on its own. I followed the recipe almost exact except I used 1tsp Herbes de Provence since I didn't have any marjoram, thyme, or bay leaf.

Very rich and creamy with depth

I loved this recipe, and will make it again throughout the summer. It's an excellent dish hot or cold, but especially cold. I increased the thyme to 1 tsp, and added some roasted garlic red wine vinegar to the leeks and onions as they sauteed. Just a dab adds a nice touch. I mixed mine with an immersion blender, which was so much easier than the blender or food processor method.

Very tasty. I used veggie stock instead of chicken. I will make this again.

Replaced butter with 2 tablespoons of Olive oil Added 3-Chicken bouillon cubes to broth in place of Salt Voila! Great recipe...very tasty

Easy, delicious and healthy! This soup is so yummy, you could omit the cream altogether.

We enjoyed this soup. I had to leave out the onion (my onion went bad), but it was still delicious. Our 3-year-old ate some too (not a lot but said he liked it. I left some potato chunks in his.) I also changed the herbs a bit to fit what I had and made it with vegetarian broth.

This recipe is amazing! I have made it for a crowd and everyone loved it! Finding soup recipes that the grandkids go back for seconds on is rare which makes this recipe standout above most. Didn’t change a thing. Update: adding rosemary takes it up a notch.

Very good. I did add some crushed garlic and doubled the thyme and basil. Like others have mentioned, this turn THICK once it cooled off. Will make again.

This came out GREAT - just as instructed. I'll be making more soon!

I ended up going heavy on the leeks and only put in 4 potatoes. I think it needed at least another 1 or 2 to make it creamier. It was still delicious

Simple, easy and fun recipe. My tip is to eat it cold or chilled.

I love making this soup. I tweak the recipe by adding crispy bacon as a garnish.

I will make it again! Topped with fresh chives from my garden, it's easy and delicious.

Great recipe...I seasoned it with some white pepper!