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A word of caution: I recommend letting the soup cool to at least lukewarm before blitzing it, and using a hand-held stick blender. Using a lidded blender is surprisingly risky with hot soup: make sure you don’t feel the jug more than half way up, as steaming hot liquid combined with the blending motion can create a pressure which will pop the lid off the blender – and trust me, you really don’t want hot soup burns.
Vichysoise
Makes: 2 litres of soup
Takes: 40 minutes, plus chilling
Bakes: No time at all
30g butter
1 small onion, roughly chopped
4 leeks, topped and tailed, roughly chopped
600g potato, peeled and roughly chopped
1 litre chicken stock
200ml double cream
Place the chopped leeks under running water, agitating them to remove any dirt between the layers. Drain well.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a medium-low heat. Add the onion, leeks and potatoes, stir to coat all the ingredients in butter, place a lid on the pan, and cook for 15 minutes, until the vegetables are beginning to soften.
Add the chicken stock, bring up to a simmer, and cook for a further 20 minutes, until you can easily crush the potato against the side of the pan. Leave to cool.
Blend thoroughly with a stick blender (if you’re using a lidded blender, don’t fill more than half way up its capacity, blend in batches, and please follow the guidance above), until completely smooth. Add the cream, and blend into the soup with the stick blender. Season, taste, and season again with salt and black pepper. Transfer to a container, and chill down in the fridge until completely cold.
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