Chilled soups used to be a lot more popular than they are these days, especially before WWII and modern air conditioning. The original Vichyssoise is a cream bomb, calling for a quart of broth, 2 cups of milk, and 3 cups of cream, for eight servings. Yikes. That’s almost a half cup of cream per serving! Our version is decidedly lighter, though still quite creamy because we use Yukon gold potatoes, which are naturally creamy potatoes (they make great mashed potatoes too). The soup is really easy to make, doesn’t use a lot of ingredients, and lasts for days. The trick is serving temperature. It’s great hot, though it is designed to be a chilled soup. I found the best serving temperature is just below room temp. Too cold and and the flavor from the butter, potatoes, and salt just disappears. If you want an even smoother soup, you can take the extra step of pressing the purée through a sieve with a rubber spatula. Add more salt to taste. Serve garnished with chopped fresh chives.
