Grand-Mère Marie’s Root Vegetable Vichyssoise
20m prep 2h cook 2h ready
A hearty French-style root vegetable soup with bacon and leeks, pureed until smooth and finished with cream. Perfect for cold days.
Ingredients
- 4 bacon snipped into 1-inch lengths
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb leeks halved lengthwise, carefully washed, and sliced into 1-inch half-rounds
- garlic crushed or chopped
- 3 celery cut into 1-inch lengths
- 1 cup celery root chopped
- white potatoes sliced into 1-inch-thick rounds
- 2 carrots cut into 1-inch lengths
- 1 cup sweet potato or yam diced
- any combination of turnip, parsnips, rutabaga, onion sliced or diced
- 2 quart chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 quart water
- 1 cup cream, buttermilk, or Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 3 tbsp butter
- salt and pepper
- powdered chipotle or cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp fresh herb such as basil, parsley, or thyme chopped
Nutrition (per serving, estimated)
Estimated based off 14 of 18 identified ingredients (per 100 g food data, scaled by amount).
Vitamins & minerals
- Calcium: 105 mg
- Iron: 2.17 mg
- Magnesium: 48.2 mg
- Phosphorus: 140 mg
- Potassium: 676 mg
- Zinc: 0.8 mg
Let's Cook
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Step 1.
Place the chopped bacon in a large soup pot over medium heat and cook until transparent, about 3-4 minutes. Add the olive oil, then add the leeks, garlic, and celery (or celery root). Cover and cook until the leeks sweat, 5 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
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Step 2.
Add all of the other vegetables (potatoes, carrots, and any combination of turnip, parsnips, rutabaga, onion, etc.), the stock, and water. Stir well, making sure the bacon is not stuck to the bottom. Bring to a boil, then immediately lower the heat, cover the pot, and simmer gently for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Do not let the pot come to a full boil again; if it does, add a little cold water or stock and lower the heat.
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Step 3.
While the soup simmers, in a small sauté pan cook the 2 reserved slices of bacon until crisp. Cool, crumble, and set aside for garnish. Optionally, add 1 tablespoon or less of the bacon drippings to the soup.
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Step 4.
Remove the pot from the heat. Using an immersion blender, blend the contents of the pot until smooth. If using a standard blender or food processor, carefully transfer the hot mixture to the machine in batches, blending until smooth, then transfer the blended soup to a second soup pot. If the soup is too thick, add additional water or stock; if too thin, uncover and let simmer gently until it reaches your preferred consistency. Move the pot away from the heat.
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Step 5.
Add the cream, white wine (if using), butter, and salt and pepper to taste. Add chipotle or cayenne pepper, if using. Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish each serving with a small dollop of cream, the reserved bacon crumbles, and (optional) a sprinkle of chopped fresh herb.
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