Vichyssoise is such a classic and I tried to make it fine dining. What do you think? It’s a slow cooked leek with confit potato, pommel soufflé, green leek cream and a caramelized onion gel.
The onion madeira gel
Ingredients
- 5 onions
- 200 g madeira
- 1 liter water
- 5 bay leaves
- agar powder
Instructions
- First cut the onions in half and clean them. Then chop 3 of the onions. Now heat up a pan, add a splash of oil and caramelize the chopped onions on a medium heat.
- Meanwhile transfer the remaining onions on a tray and toast the top with a blowtorch or do this on your gas stove.
- Once the onions are caramelized add the madeira and reduce this until almost everything has vaporized.
- Then add the water, the toasted onions and the bay leaves. Now let simmer for at least 3 hours.
- After that pour the broth on a sieve that’s laid with a clean kitchen paper. Let this drain for at least half an hour to be sure that you don’t waist a single drop.
- Then pour it in a clean pan and reduce it until it has reached the desired flavor. Give it a little taste and when necessary, season it with salt.
- Now weight the total amount of liquid you have and pour it back into the pan. Add for every 100 grams of broth 1 gram of agar powder. Mix this and then bring it to a boil for 1 minute.
- Now pour it in an oven dish and let it set in your fridge.
- Once it’s set transfer it into a blender and blender it into a smooth gel.
For the slow cooked leek
Ingredients
- 5 leeks
- olive oil
- 10 lemon peels
Instructions
- Begin by separating the green part from the white part on the leeks. Keep the green part for later. Then take 5 pieces of aluminum foil.
- Now place the white part of the leek on the foil and season it with a drizzle of olive oil, some salt, and the lemon peels.
- Then roll this really tight and repeat the process we just did with the remaining leeks. Now transfer them on an oven rack and cook them at 150 °C for 50 minutes.
- Once they’re cooked take them out of the aluminum foil and remove the lemon peel.
- Then pull the inside of the leek out and be sure that it’s the same size on all leeks. Let it cool down in your fridge and keep the trimmings for later.
- Once the leek has cooled down portion it into pieces that are around 1 centimeter and keep it in your fridge for later.
For the green leek puree
Ingredients
- 5 green parts of the leeks
- 150 g white wine
- 250 g chicken stock
- 4 g salt
- 25 g parsley leaves
- white wine vinegar
Instructions
- Cut the green leeks in half and wash them under cold water. Then chop them into thin slices.
- Now heat up a big pan and add the chopped leek, the white wine, the chicken stock and the salt. Cover this with some parchment paper and let all the liquid reduce on a low heat.
- Meanwhile pick enough parsley leaves for 25 grams.
- Once all the liquid has reduced and the leek is cooked transfer it into a blender together with the parsley leaves. Now blend it till smooth.
- Season with a touch of white wine vinegar to make it fresh and vibrated and mix it for another minute.
- Then press it through a fine sieve and use a ladle to make it a little bit easier. Now cover it with plastic foil and keep it in your fridge for later.
The pommes soufflé
Ingredients
- 1 big waxy potato
- egg white
- potato starch
Instructions
- First peel the big waxy potato. Now cut it in thin slices that are around 1 millimeter on the mandolin.
- Lay the slices in 4 rows in your worktop and dust a layer of potato starch on two rows. Now brush all the potato starch off.
- Brush a super thin layer of egg white on the other two rows. Then place the two slices on top of each other with the potato starch side facing the egg white side.
- Now cut the slices with a small round cutter. Then remove the trimmings and transfer the rounds on the side of a tray. Now be sure that you have some hot oil that’s 170 °C ready.
- Throw a couple of the potato slices in the oil and directly start basing it to ensure that the potato will soufflé.
- Once there nice and golden take them out of the oil and lay them on a clean kitchen paper. Season with some salt and keep them dry and covered for later.
The confit potato
Ingredients
- 4 waxy potatoes
- neutral oil I use sunflower or grape seed oil
- 5 sprigs thyme
- 4 cloves garlic
Instructions
- First peel the waxy potatoes. Then cut it into the desired size. After that cut it with a small round cutter that has the same size as your cut leek. Keep all the trimmings in some cold water for later.
- Now place a parchment paper in an oven dish and put your potato rounds on top. Season the top with salt and submerge them completely with the neutral oil.
- Then also add the thyme and the garlic cloves that are cut in half.
- Now cook it at 120 °C for 1.5 hours.
- Once cooked take them out of the oil and keep them in your fridge for later.
The vichysoisse sauce
Ingredients
- 400 g potato trimmings
- 200 g leek trimmings
- 500 g cream 35% fat
- 900 g chicken stock
- 10 g salt
- 1 onion
Instructions
- Weigh the potato trimmings in a pan and also add the leek trimmings, the cream, the chicken stock and the salt.
- Now cut the onion in half and clean it. Then chop it.
- Add the chopped onion to the pan and reduce this for one third.
- Then blend this till it’s smooth and check the sauce for seasoning.
How to finish the dish
Instructions
- First transfer the potato and leek on a tray and heat it up at 160 °C for 4 to 5 minutes.
- Then start laying the rounds on a plate. After that pipe small dots of the onion gel on the leek.
- Then pipe the green leek cream on the potato. Both the gel and cream are at room temperature.
- Now decorate the cream with parsley cress and place the pommes souffle on the onion gel.
- Then finish the dish with the hot vichysoisse sauce.
