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Desperation Dinners
Canned spuds move up in class

Add leeks, broth, butter, cream for vichyssoise that will give you chills

By Beverly Mills, with Alicia Ross
United Feature Syndicate

Published on Wednesday, Jun 24, 2009

''The fact that this vichyssoise is made with canned potatoes just shocks the pants off me!''

And those, dear friends, were the exact words from Alicia as she told me about her love affair with our desperate version of this classic chilled French soup. It's true that a slight variation of today's recipe is printed in our very own Desperation Dinners cookbook, but I had not tasted it in nearly a decade.

Somehow, over the years, I became a potato snob. Anything made with canned potatoes couldn't be good, could it?

''Oh, I make that soup all the time and we love it,'' Alicia told me when I wondered aloud why on Earth we used it in the cookbook. ''It's terrific.''

And so I had to retest it, perfectionista that I am. And, of course, Alicia was right. It's a terrific — and very easy — chilled summer soup. But don't take Alicia's word for it. Or mine. Make it yourself, and be prepared for a pleasant shock.

QUICK POTATO AND LEEK SOUP
1 tbsp. butter
3/4 cup thinly sliced leeks
1 large can (29 oz.) sliced or whole new potatoes, drained (see note)
2 cans (14 oz. each) reduced-sodium, fat-free chicken broth (see note)
1/2 cup half-and-half or whole milk
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
Black pepper, to taste
1/4 tsp. salt, optional
Snipped chives, optional garnish

Melt butter in a 41/2-quart or larger soup pot over medium heat. Wash leeks thoroughly by cutting in half vertically and peeling back the layers while rinsing to remove dirt. Slice leeks, and add to pot. Cook, stirring frequently until soft, about 2 minutes. (Be careful not to brown; reduce heat if necessary.)

Remove from heat, and add drained potatoes and broth. Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth, breaking up and then pureeing any large pieces of potato or leek. (Or use a regular blender or food processor — however, add only enough broth to puree without overflow.)

Pour potato mixture into a large serving or storage bowl. Add remaining ingredients. Stir well, and chill (see note) for cold soup; for room temperature, serve at once, garnished with chives, if desired.

Makes 6 (1-cup) servings.

Notes: Refrigerate the potatoes and broth a day or more before making soup to reduce chill time. If potatoes and broth are not cold, chill 20 minutes in the freezer before serving, stirring once after 10 minutes.

Each serving has about 115 calories (34 percent from fat), 4 grams fat (3 grams saturated), 12.5 milligrams cholesterol, 4 grams protein, 16 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams dietary fiber and 538 milligrams sodium.

Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross are co-authors of three cookbooks for the desperate. Contact them at Desperation Dinners, c/o United Media, 200 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016. Or visit the Desperation Dinners Web site at http://www.kitchenscoop.com.

 

''The fact that this vichyssoise is made with canned potatoes just shocks the pants off me!''

Get the full article here.

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