2000s Recipes + Menus

Watercress Vichyssoise
Serves4
- Active time:30 min
- Start to finish:2 3/4 hr(includes chilling)
June 2004
There’s no need to trim the watercress; you can use every bit of it in this recipe.
For filling
- 1 small boiling potato (1/4 lb), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 cups (16 fl oz) low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 4 cups coarsely chopped watercress (1 large bunch)
-
Simmer potato, onion, broth, and cream, uncovered, in a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan until vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Stir in watercress and cook mixture, uncovered, over moderately low heat 3 minutes more.
-
Purée soup in 2 batches in a blender until very smooth, about 45 seconds per batch (use caution when blending hot liquids). Force soup through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing hard on solids and then discarding them. Season with salt and pepper and let soup stand, uncovered, until cool, 45 minutes, then chill, covered, 1 1/2 hours.
Cooks’ notes:
- Soup can be chilled quickly in a metal bowl set in a larger bowl of ice and cold water. Stir occasionally for 15 minutes, then remove from cold water and refrigerate, covered, until cold, about 30 minutes.
- Soup can be chilled, covered, up to 2 days.
- Keywords
- paul grimes,
- summer,
- soup,
- vegetarian,
- dairy