It’s been hot and humid and I have a lot of vegetables in my frig to use up before I pick up the delivery of my next batch of vegetables from the CSA (Community Sustained Agriculature). I intended to use up more than I actually did, so l’m going to have to make more of these cold vegetable soups. Well, I say “cold,” but they can be served hot or at room temperature. The classic vichyssoise recipe  is the one in Julia Child’s first cook book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. It uses only a few ingredients: potatoes, leeks, cream and butter and the combination produces an absolutely delicious soup!. You can check it out at this website: http://homecooking.about.com/od/soups/r/blss114.htm. I had a lot of potatoes, onions, but no leeks. So  I improvised. Here’s what I made:

Potato Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup diced  onions (or leeks if you have them, but they are a lot more work than onions since they needs to be thoroughly washed repeatedly)

1 cup diced celery

4 large russet potatoes , diced

2 tablespoons fresh herbs (oregano, thyme, basil, parsley), tied into a bundle of cheesecloth

1 large clove of garlic minced

4 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup cream (half & half; creme fraiche, or real cream)

salt to taste

Heat olive oil in a large pot. Add onions and celery and cook slowly for about 10 minutes. Add the diced potatoes, herb bundle, garlic and stir to combine.Cook for 5 minutes more, then add the chicken broth. Cook over low heat 30 minutes more or until potatoes are tender. Remove the herb bundle. Let mixture stand until cool enough to handle. When cool, puree in a blender, two or three cups at a time. . When pureed thoroughly, pour into a large bowl. Add the 1/2cup of half and half and salt and stair until incorporated. Let cool to room temperature or put in the refrigerator to chill. The soup will thicken as it sits.

Note: I used Russet potatoes because these potatoes have the most starch and can by themselves be used as a thickeners. So this soup is quite  thick. If you need it somewhat thinner then don’t add the potato starch.