It kind of pains me to be making a chilled soup in September, but it feels like the heat will be staying with us in Vegas for a few weeks longer. Of course, this is only made worse by all of the smoke in the air from the fires in California.

Vichyssoise is a classic French-style chilled soup made from potatoes, leeks, water, and heavy cream. Although the ingredient list is sparse, the soup has a decidedly complex taste. The key to a successful Vichyssoise is proper seasoning. Keep on tinkering with the seasonings until you get it perfect. It is best to season once the soup is cooked and then again when it is chilled. Like most potato dishes, salt adds a whole lot of flavour and can turn this soup from bland to exquisite.

I made a huge pot of soup and we have been eating that for lunch for the last couple of days. Not only is the soup really easy to make, but perhaps even easier to serve: just take it out of the fridge, chop up some chives, and then eat. This Vichyssoise recipe makes enough for 8 lunches at 68 cents per serving.

Vichyssoise, from Julia Child’s The Way to Cook
4 cups sliced leeks, white part only (I used a bit of the light green too!)
4 cups diced baking potatoes
7 cups water
1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons salt or to taste
ground white pepper to taste
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon fresh chives, minced

Place the leeks, potatoes, water into a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Lightly salt and then partially cover the pan while everything simmers for around 25 minutes, or until the veggies are tender.

Use an immersion blender and puree the soup. Taste it and then season it again with some salt and white pepper. Let the soup cool off and then add the heavy cream. Then taste the soup again and season until it is perfect to your taste buds.

Place the soup in the fridge until it is properly chilled and serve with a sprinkle of fresh chives on top. If you live in parts of the world that are experiencing cooler weather, you can also heat up this soup too.