Vichyssoise Soup Recipe: The Origins of Vichyssoise
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: Oct 3, 2023 • 2 min read
Vichyssoise, a soup of velvety-rich potatoes with sharp, green alliums, made soft and mellow by chilled cream, is the ultimate elegant appetizer for a summertime dinner party.
Learn From the Best
What Is Vichyssoise?
Vichyssoise (veesh-ees-wahz) is a French soup consisting of puréed leeks, onions, potatoes, cream, and chicken broth or stock. The famous dish is traditionally served chilled during warm weather, similar to gazpacho, but also lends itself to a warm preparation during colder months.
Variations on the standard potato-and-leek formula for vichyssoise may include other alliums like shallots or green garlic, root vegetables like parsnips, or seasonal ingredients like fresh peas or cauliflower. In these preparations, the unifying features are cream and the chilling of the finished purée.
What Are the Origins of Vichyssoise?
Vichyssoise is one of many variations of potato-leek soup known as a “potage Parmentier,” or Parmentier soup after Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, the French chef who popularized the use of potatoes in French cuisine.
The chilled soup known as modern vichyssoise has a few different origin stories—from King Louis XV to Julia Child—but is predominantly attributed to Louis Diat, a French chef working at the Ritz-Carlton in New York City, in the early 1900s. Diat drew inspiration for the dish from his childhood spent near Vichy, a town in central France, where he and his brother added cold milk to their mother’s basic potage Parmentier during hotter months. The version he cooked at the Ritz was called crème vichyssoise glacée to honor this memory.
Vichyssoise Recipe
makes
prep time
10 mintotal time
50 mincook time
40 minIngredients
- 1
Heat the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the leeks and onion, and sauté until soft and translucent, but before they begin to brown.
- 2
Add the potatoes to the pot, and stir to combine. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper, and cook for a few more minutes.
- 3
Add the stock, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook partially covered until the potatoes are soft and easily piercable with a paring knife, about 30–40 minutes.
- 4
Remove from heat, and using either a handheld immersion blender or a food processor, purée until smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed. Allow the soup to cool slightly.
- 5
Stir in the heavy cream and sour cream, and return to low heat. Cook for another 5 minutes or so, and adjust consistency as needed, adding a little more stock or cream to preference.
- 6
Allow the soup to cool completely to room temperature before refrigerating; when ready to serve, give the soup a few good whisks before ladling it into chilled bowls.
- 7
Garnish with fresh herbs.
Become a better chef with the MasterClass Annual Membership. Gain access to exclusive video lessons taught by culinary masters, including Chef Thomas Keller, Gabriela Cámara, Niki Nakayama, Yotam Ottolenghi, Dominique Ansel, Gordon Ramsay, Alice Waters, and more.