Chilled Cucumber Vichyssoise Recipes

CLASSIC VICHYSSOISE

Steps:

• In a large stock pot melt butter over low heat. Add leeks and onion, cover, and cook for 10 minutes.
• Add potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Add thyme, marjoram, bay leaf and stir well. Cover pot and continue to cook for 12 minutes.
• Add chicken stock and bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook, partially covered for 30 minutes.
• Puree soup in blender or food processor and cool.
• Prior to serving add cream. If you are serving this soup warm you need to reheat the soup slowly so that the cream does not change consistency.

CUCUMBER CUPS WITH VICHYSSOISE

Steps:

• Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add leeks and cook, stirring often, until tender, about 10 minutes. Add potatoes and stock. Season with salt. Simmer until potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes.
• Strain leek-potato mixture through a fine sieve, reserving liquid. Puree solids in a food mill or blender, adding reserved liquid as needed, just until smooth. Stir in remaining reserved liquid.
• Strain soup through sieve into a large bowl, and stir in half-and-half and nutmeg. Season with salt and white pepper. Refrigerate vichyssoise until chilled, about 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, hollow out cucumbers using a melon baller, leaving bottoms intact. Refrigerate, covered with a damp towel, until ready to use.
• Stir cream into chilled vichyssoise just before serving. Fill cucumber cups with vichyssoise and garnish with chives.

CHILLED CUCUMBER VICHYSSOISE

Steps:

• Pour stock into large saucepan, add potatoes and bring to a boil.
• Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
• Heat the butter in a skillet, add leeks and onion and saute over low heat for 5 minutes.
• Either use an immersion blender after adding leek mixture to the liquids or in batches, combine vegetables and stock in the processor, add cucumbers and puree.
• Pour mixture into large bowl.
• Stir in cream, add nutmeg, salt and pepper, stir and chill for a couple of hours.
• Serve in soup bowls or wine glasses garnished with minced chives.

CHILLED APPLE VICHYSSOISE

Steps:

• In a large pot, stir together water and sugar over medium heat until sugar dissolves and mixture comes to a simmer. Add 1 1/2 pounds large diced apples and cook about 15 minutes at a low simmer or until apples are very tender. Stir occasionally. Let cool.
• In another non-reactive larger pot, melt butter over medium heat and saute ginger about 3 minutes to release its flavor; don't let it burn. Stir in applesauce, white wine, brandy and heavy cream. Stir in cooked apples. Remove from burner and let everything cool to room temperature.
• In a food processor fitted with the metal blade, process apple mixture with ice cream (in batches if necessary) until very smooth. Pass everything through a fine sieve into a large bowl. Discard any solids that remain in sieve. Whisk in cinnamon and yogurt and refrigerate several hours or overnight until well chilled, covering when cool. Stir well before serving. Garnish each serving with 1/4 cup fine-diced apples.

VICHYSSOISE

Steps:

• Gently sweat the chopped leeks and the chopped onion in butter or margarine until soft, about 8 minutes. Do NOT let them brown.
• Add potatoes and stock to the saucepan. Salt and pepper to taste; do not overdo them! Bring to the boil, and simmer very gently for 30 minutes.
• Puree in a blender or food processor until very smooth. Cool. Gently stir in the cream before serving.

CHIVE AND CUCUMBER VICHYSSOISE

Steps:

• Melt butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add leeks; sauté just until soft but not yet brown, about 5 minutes. Add broth and potato. Simmer until potato is very tender, about 12 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer potato and leeks to blender. Add half of cooking liquid and blend to coarse puree. Add cream and blend, using on/off turns. Transfer to large bowl. Combine cucumber, chives and remaining cooking liquid in blender; puree until smooth. Mix into leek puree. Season with salt and pepper. Chill, at least 4 hours and up to 6 hours.
• Stir soup and ladle into bowls. Garnish with radishes, if desired.