I’ll tell you, vichyssoise ice cream. That’s why. I tried it. It was terrible. perhaps it was a texture thing – more on that later.
But first, Wikipedia points to a chicken and egg conundrum as it relates to Vichyssoise – it is American or French? Made in America by a Frenchman? The menu standard at the American run Ritz Carlton or the revival by a chef who returned to the town of Vichy? And who had the idea to turn it into ice cream? Since the chef apparently called his dish Creme Vichyssoise Glacee, I guess he did, but I blame J. Our friend J is Paleo, off carbs and sugar, trim, healthy, and can eat all the cheese he wants to. What’s not to envy? I was hoping that if I could make an ice cream that meets his diet criteria, I too could eat as much of it as I’d like with the same results. Perhaps I should call this magic ice cream?
Hence, vichyssoise ice cream. Who knew there was such variety in the soup? Is it potato leek soup with a dash of cream like the one in AllRecipes? Or is it the creamy, luscious concoction you’d expect from Anthony Bourdain? We are talking ice cream, and a vacation fridge that is dwindling. Ixnay on the chicken stop, hello rose and cream… I suspect a little is going to go a long way, so this is a small batch idea.
Vichyssoise Ice Cream
3 tablespoons butter
2 leeks – rinsed and white parts only sliced
1 medium spring onion diced fine
1 cup small dice potatoes
1 cup rose or white wine
1 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons chopped chives
- Melt butter over medium heat in a saucepan large enough to hold all the ingredients. Add the leeks and onions. Stir and saute until soft but don’t let them brown. Stir in the potatoes. Add the wine and bring to a gentle simmer for about 10 minutes; stirring as needed. Off heat and put a lid on the pan to bring the mix to room temperature.
- Add a couple grounds of black pepper and a dash of salt and the cream. Using an immersion blender, puree the mixture. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.
- Put in a container and cover with saran, chill – overnight if you can.
- Churn in an ice cream machine. When almost done, add the chopped chives and allow them to mix in. Put into a container to harden and freeze until firm enough to serve.
So the update, having eaten this last night, is that it’s not right. It wasn’t as bad as the sweet pea ice cream of a couple weeks ago. My texture is getting better. But for this to be anything more than a chemistry experiment would have required taking a small portion of the leek mix, amping up the cream / milk and pureeing the heck out of it. I mean no lumps, smooth as a you know what. In my head, I was thinking about a meal I had the chance to eat at Empellon in New York City this week. We had an absolutely outstanding meal and great service. One thing we ate was a salsa verde mousseline (more on this when I get to my foam faze) that was served with baby Romaine lettuce leaves on a bed of ice – think oysters on the half shell. Anyway, that’s how this ice cream should have been served to J. I may have to go back and give it another try later. If so, I’ll update this.
28 ice creams down and only a few left to go before this July extravaganza comes to an end. It’s been interesting to compile this group of recipes. Soon it will be on to dieting and editing.