Potato Leek Soup (Vichyssoise)
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Always leading the way with innovative and popular products like Melissa’s Steamed Line, addictively healthy Clean Snax®, and the much-anticipated annual Hatch Chile seasonal items, now they’ve found another way to help you up your culinary game with the unique collection of ingredients in the Potato Leek Soup Kit. You’ll get everything you need to create a homemade, made-from-scratch, delicious pot of steaming and comforting soup, delivered right to your home.
Consisting of Baby Dutch Yellow Potatoes, Cleaned & Sliced Leeks, Shallots, Garlic, Fresh Thyme and Fresh Parsley, the only thing you’ll need to complete this classic recipe in plant-based style is a bit of plant-based butter and some non-dairy milk. For added decadence, I’ve substituted half the non-dairy milk with some full-fat coconut milk, and it takes the soup to another creamy, rich level. Other little tweaks I made to the original recipe are to add ¾ of a cup of fresh flat leaf parsley into the soup when its being blended, using extra plant-based butter (because why not), and upping the salt and pepper to my taste, and you should up the salt and pepper to your taste too.
Not so much a summer dish, Potato Leek Soup is a classic, hot soup but that’s just one way to enjoy it. Served cold, the French way, Potato Leek Soup becomes Vichyssoise, one of Julia Child’s all-time favorite recipes. So, to honor her many contributions to the modern culinary landscape, and to also honor the people of France who celebrate Bastille Day on July 14, I present my plant-based version of Melissa’s Potato Leek Soup, served cold, Vichyssoise-style. Accompanied by a nice, crusty baguette with more plant-based butter, and maybe a cold glass of rosé, you will have a delicious, refreshing midday meal.
Potato Leek Soup/Vichyssoise
Ingredients
6 tablespoons plant-based butter
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 package (3 oz.) shallots, diced
2 packages Cleaned & Sliced Leeks
3 cloves garlic (or more if you’d like)
½ teaspoon Kosher salt or 1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 packages (1.5 lbs. each) Baby Dutch Yellow® Potatoes, quartered
1 cup unsweetened, plain, extra creamy oat milk
1 can coconut milk
6 cups vegetable broth
6 springs Fresh Thyme
¾ cup Fresh Parsley
3 tablespoons Fresh Parsley for garnish
Preparation
Melt the butter and oil in a large pot over medium heat.
Stir in the shallots, leeks, garlic, salt and pepper and sauté for 3 minutes.
Add in the quartered potatoes and continue cooking for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the oat milk, coconut milk, vegetable broth, and thyme, and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 20-25 minutes, stirring often, until the potatoes are tender.
Remove the pot from the heat and discard the thyme stems.
Add the ¾ cup of flat leaf parsley to the pot and using an immersion blender, purée the soup until smooth. If you don’t have an immersion blender, carefully ladle some of the soup into a regular blender, filling the container about 2/3 full, and blend starting at low speed so as not to create too much steam, and continue blending in batches until completely creamy. If the soup seems too thick, just add a little oat milk or water. Season again to taste with salt and pepper. When cooled to room temperature, place the puréed soup in the refrigerator for at least one hour before serving.
Ladle the chilled soup into serving bowls and garnish with the fresh flat leaf parsley.
