Winter soups bring comfort against the cold

As I write this, I have two pots of soup simmering on the stove, and the entire apartment is filled with wonderful aromas. Between the miserably cold temperatures and aggressively high winds, it’s daunting to consider venturing outside. What better way to combat the winter weather than to create some warm, tempting bowls of creamy soup?

The first is a simple mixture of potatoes and leeks that was originally named “potage Parmentier” for chef Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, who was among the first to encourage the use of potatoes in French dishes. This humble combination becomes a lovely mouthful of rich flavor after simmering for less than an hour before the mixture is puréed.

This is also the same base for the chilled soup known as vichyssoise. The history of the cold version has some whimsical backstories. According to What’s Cooking America, because King Louis XV was afraid of being poisoned, he had multiple servants taste-test his food before he would eat it. By the time the soup reached him, it was cold, and the first vichyssoise was invented.

An alternative explanation describes French chef Louis Diat’s childhood in France. During warm weather, he would add cold milk to his mother’s hot potato and leek soup. While working as a chef in New York City in the early 1900s, he made the familiar potato and leek soup which he then refrigerated, blended, strained, and garnished with a swirl of heavy cream and a sprinkle of snipped chives. He called it crème vichyssoise glacée.

In Julia Child’s recipe for the warm soup, she uses water as the boiling liquid for the vegetables, which keeps the color of the soup whiter. I prefer to use vegetable or chicken stock, or broth, which will give the final product a slightly yellow cast. It is delicious on its own, but becomes almost decadent when you add a generous amount of heavy cream and serve it chilled.

The other soup on my stove this morning is something I call cream of mushroom, but it is made without any cream or milk. Sliced mushrooms and chopped shallots are sautéed in a bit of butter until completely softened. Just before they start to brown, the pan is deglazed with chicken stock and the mixture continues to a simmer. Once the mushrooms begin to disintegrate, an immersion blender purées everything into a creamy texture.

Of course, you can always stir in some cream or milk, but without the added dairy, this is healthy and very low-calorie. I have found you can use this same technique with almost any vegetable. I’ve used it for tomato, cauliflower, broccoli, carrot and butternut squash, just to name a few. The key to success is to make sure the vegetables are cooked close to mush.

Variations to the mushroom soup can come from which seasonings you choose to add. Thyme seems to work well, and a garnish of parsley is also nice. Be sure to save a few of the sautéed mushrooms for garnish on the bowl of soup, as seen in the photo. Make sure to wait until you have the final soup ready to serve before adding any seasonings, because the broth or stock may have added more salt than you might expect. Stay warm!

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Melt the butter in a deep skillet. Add the mushrooms and shallots; sauté until completely softened. Deglaze the pan with the broth or stock, stirring to incorporate any browned bits into the liquid. Simmer over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes. Remove and set aside 3 or 4 slices of mushroom to use as garnish. Purée the mixture with an immersion blender or in a food processor. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls, sprinkle with parsley and garnish with reserved mushroom slices. Yield: 4 servings.

Potage Parmentier*
Leek and Potato Soup

Peel and chop the potatoes. Thoroughly wash and thinly slice the leeks. Add both vegetables to a soup pot and pour in water. Stir in salt and bring to a boil over medium high. Cook until tender, about 40 to 50 minutes. Pass the mixture through a food mill or purée with an immersion blender. Stir in cream (if using) and heat briefly. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with chives. Yield: 6 servings. *Adapted from Julia Child.

Vichyssoise*

Simmer the potatoes and leeks in the stock until tender, about 40 to 50 minutes. Purée the mixture with an immersion blender or pass through a food mill. Stir in the cream, and season to taste with salt and white pepper. Chill for at least one hour. Serve cold, garnished with chives. Yield: 6 servings. *Adapted from Julia Child.