Vichyssoise - Cold Leek and Potato Soup

It's week 5 of the JC100 and my first recipe for the challenge! To commemorate Julia Child's 100 birthday, this week's recipe taken from her book Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. 1, is a chilled potato and leek soup with whipping cream. I'm not a fan of cold soup but its creamy savouriness is a simple delight and will be great for the looming hot days of summer.

Ingredients:

3 cups potato, peeled and sliced

3 cups white of leek, sliced
6 cups chicken stock or broth
1/2 cup whipping cream
chopped chives for garnish
salt, to tast

Method:

Cut the leek in half to access its white center. Make sure to rinse it well with cold water, washing between each layer to ensure no dirt remains.

Chop the potato and leek and simmer in a pot with the chicken stock. Let it cook for about 20 minutes, or until the potato is soft when poked with a fork.

Season with salt according to your taste.

Remove from the heat and let it cool slightly before blending.

I used a food processor to puree the mixture until no chunks remained.

Once blended add the soup to a fine sieve. This will eliminate the fibre from the soup, leaving it silky and smooth to the touch.

To speed up the process swiftly stir the soup  until almost nothing is left except a thick mixture of debris from the vegetables.

Before you serve and add the cream the soup has to be chilled. If you're in a rush, flash freeze it in the freezer for 20 minutes.

Once chilled, add the whipping cream. You may want to add more salt, as salt loses savor in a cold dish, says Julia!

Lastly, chop chives for garnish.

*Excerpted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. Copyright © 1961 by Alfred A. Knopf. Reprinted with permission from the publisher Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc.