Without the truffle this soup is called potage parmentier when served hot and vichyssoise when served cold. I don’t think it has a name but truffled leek and potato is completely over the top.
I just don’t understand why people don’t make more soup. People always love it. And it’s way easier than doing an appetizer plus you can make it ahead of time.
Drop the appetizer from your menu and slide in a soup. Half the work and just as impressive. Ask yourself – would you rather be fussing with a fancy appetizer with the main course on it’s heels or ladle a bit of soup into a bowl. I vote for easy!
You can make the basic recipe without the truffle and serve it hot or cold. If you do that, add a teaspoon of salt when you add the potatoes and then adjust seasoning at the end. If you are going to serve it cold make sure you check your seasoning when it’s cold. It will need more salt.
Truffle salt is just that. Salt with bits of truffle. Unlike truffle oil which is an artificial flavouring agent (still tasty), truffle salt is based on the real deal.
Purists will slam you for using truffle oil. I like the salt better but the oil is still a fun ingredient to play with. You can use truffle oil here if you want – I’m not with the truffle police. Either way it’s truffled leek and potato soup in my books.
But please do try it with truffle salt if you can. It’s a whole different level of wow.
truffled leek and potato soup
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp butter
- 2 medium onions diced
- 3-4 leeks white and light green portion only, diced
- 12 oz floury potatoes diced. Russets work well - do not use waxy potatoes
- 6 cups low sodium chicken stock homemade is always nice
- 1 cup 35% whipping cream
- truffle salt or just plain salt plus truffle oil to taste
- white pepper
- minced chives to garnish
Instructions
- Melt the butter over medium low heat and gently cook the onions and leeks until soft. This could take as long as 10 minutes. You do not want anything to brown though. Add the diced potatoes and chicken stock and simmer until the potatoes are tender, around 15-20 minutes.
- Let cool slightly and puree. You want to really puree - no lumps here. That’s why waxy or even yukon gold are high risk. Pureeing waxy potatoes is a good way to make glue. Not good.
- One little trick to be aware of. If you are pureeing in a blender you need to take the little cap in the middle of the top out to let the steam escape. Not doing this is a pretty good way to get soup on the ceiling.
- At this point you can either finish it off or just let it sit until dinner time. If you let it sit, reheat to the barest simmer to serve. In either case you will not let this come to a simmer again after you add the cream so plan accordingly.
- Add cream to the hot soup and then season with the truffle salt/oil and white pepper. You want to add the truffle salt just before you serve. I find the flavour weakens if you cook it.
- Ladle into bowls, garnish with a bit of minced chives and serve.
Variation
- If you can get your hands on fresh sorrel this is a nice flashy variation. Sweat some sorrel in butter. Follow the recipe above but omit the truffle salt. Puree the wilted sorrel in a bit of soup to make a sorrel puree. Ladle the soup into the bowl and then spoon some of the sorrel puree into the middle of the soup. Cut through the circle with a knife to drag the green sorrel puree through the white leek and potato soup. Prepare for adulation from your dinner guests and serve.
Nutrition
truffled leek and potato soup
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp butter
- 2 medium onions diced
- 3-4 leeks white and light green portion only, diced
- 12 oz floury potatoes diced. Russets work well - do not use waxy potatoes
- 6 cups low sodium chicken stock homemade is always nice
- 1 cup 35% whipping cream
- truffle salt or just plain salt plus truffle oil to taste
- white pepper
- minced chives to garnish
Instructions
- Melt the butter over medium low heat and gently cook the onions and leeks until soft. This could take as long as 10 minutes. You do not want anything to brown though. Add the diced potatoes and chicken stock and simmer until the potatoes are tender, around 15-20 minutes.
- Let cool slightly and puree. You want to really puree - no lumps here. That’s why waxy or even yukon gold are high risk. Pureeing waxy potatoes is a good way to make glue. Not good.
- One little trick to be aware of. If you are pureeing in a blender you need to take the little cap in the middle of the top out to let the steam escape. Not doing this is a pretty good way to get soup on the ceiling.
- At this point you can either finish it off or just let it sit until dinner time. If you let it sit, reheat to the barest simmer to serve. In either case you will not let this come to a simmer again after you add the cream so plan accordingly.
- Add cream to the hot soup and then season with the truffle salt/oil and white pepper. You want to add the truffle salt just before you serve. I find the flavour weakens if you cook it.
- Ladle into bowls, garnish with a bit of minced chives and serve.
Variation
- If you can get your hands on fresh sorrel this is a nice flashy variation. Sweat some sorrel in butter. Follow the recipe above but omit the truffle salt. Puree the wilted sorrel in a bit of soup to make a sorrel puree. Ladle the soup into the bowl and then spoon some of the sorrel puree into the middle of the soup. Cut through the circle with a knife to drag the green sorrel puree through the white leek and potato soup. Prepare for adulation from your dinner guests and serve.
Nutrition
A twist on a chicken sandwich. Hard to believe but true.
It’s a bold statement and I don’t blame anyone who just hits the back button when they see the title. But it’s true. It’s not the bread and it’s not the toppings. It’s not the condiments – no wonder ingredients in the mayo. No garlic, chipotle, anchovy, caper, lemon or anything else.
It’s the chicken. Every chicken sandwich starts out with the same thing. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts. I would like to know why. Is there a less interesting piece of protein anywhere? OK – maybe tofu but does that really count?
Just don’t buy boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Twice the price, half the flavour and prone to drying out when you cook them. Buy bone-in, skin-on and bone them out yourself and leave the skin on. Added bonus, throw those bones into a freezer bag and make stock down the road.
Leave the skin on. That’s the twist. It protects the chicken as it cooks, it tastes fantastic and it adds moisture to the sandwich. You have to add moisture and mouthfeel to the sandwich somehow. Butter, olive oil, mayonnaise or chicken skin – it has to be there or you’re eating dust.
There’s no recipe here. Just a guideline. Make the sandwich that speaks to you. The one in the picture was chicken seasoned with creole seasoning , pan-fried and finished in the oven. Good bread, summer tomatoes, lettuce, mayo and pickled onions. Simple but delicious. Do what suits your ingredients and your mood.
Technique
Bone out the chicken breasts, leaving the skin intact. Place the boned chicken breast skin side down and butterfly it, being careful not to accidentally cut the breast into two pieces. Leave yourself the equivalent of half the thickness of the breast. Now flip the breast open with the skin side up. The skin won’t cover the entire butterflied breast but that’s OK. Season both sides of the breast with whatever works for your sandwich vision.
At this point you can grill, pan-fry or roast the chicken. I like grilled or pan-fried. If you grill, remember you are playing with fire. Chicken skin causes flareups. If you go the pan-fried route, heat a skilled over medium heat. Add enough oil to film the pan and place the chicken skin side down and cook until the chicken is lightly browned. Flip the breasts skin side up and put them into a 375F oven. Cook until you get an internal temp around 165-170F – probably less than 10 minutes. Make your chicken sandwich. Enjoy.
The details are the things that matter in cooking too. Always keep that in mind.
