Vichyssoise, leek, potatoes, parsley, sourdough garlic & crisp guanciale bacon

This vichyssoise is a French classic with a splash of Italy.

Perfect for this weather and simple to create, Mark has tarted up this culinary soup with the deep, salty-sweet taste of guanciale.

Direct to your doorstep, L’emporio will deliver incredible cured pork cheek amongst other fine Italian delights (discover more here).  This is a beautiful looking starter or lunch, a real show stopper – and those crunchy sourdough croutons are double naughty too.

INGREDIENTS

Vichyssoise & warm salad:

• 3 large spuds
• 2-3 leeks
• Half a white onion
• Far too much butter
• Enough boiling water or chicken stock to cover
• Very generous pours of milk
• 2 slices of guanciale per bowl
• Large handful of parsley
• Glug of olive oil
• Sea salt to taste
• Milled black pepper

Sourdough garlic:

• Generous handful of sourdough shards / croutons
• 1 garlic clove
• Enough butter to fry golden
• Small pinch of sea salt to season

MISE EN PLACE

• Peel potatoes, rinse in cold water and cut into even sized chunks
• Separate the white of the leeks from the green, wash well and finely chop the white leek ready for the soup.
• Finely chop half an onion.
• Finely julienne the darker green part of the leek in to long thin strands ready for the warm salad.
• Blanche the green leek in boiling salty water for a minute then plunge into icy water and reserve.
• Pick the parsley leaves and reserve.
• If using chicken stock, crumble the bouillon into boiling water.
• Cut half a pat of butter into cubes
• Tear bread into shards / make croutons
• Finely slice a garlic clove

METHOD

• Sweat the white leek and onions in plenty of butter for 5-10 minutes until thoroughly translucent and soft.
• Add the potato cubes and coat well in the butter, adding more if needed, for a few minutes on medium heat. Ensure no colour on any of the veg.
• Cover the potatoes and leeks with boiling water or chicken stock and a very large pour of milk. Season. Simmer gently for 30 minutes or until the potatoes are very soft.
• Let it cool for a few minutes and then blitz in batches.
• Add another decent splash of milk and a couple of cubes of butter for glossiness.
• It will probably still need some more water to thin it out – don’t be shy, it should be the consistency of single cream whilst still hot.
• Push this through a sieve, ensuring you have a silky smooth white soup. Chill down until it’s cold!
• Sweat the green leek strands in plenty of butter until soft.
• Fry the guanciale slices in a little oil, when the fat starts to melt turn the heat down and let it crisp up. This happens fast so keep your eye on it!

For the Sourdough Garlic croutons:

• Fry the bread shards in butter until golden.
• Add the finely sliced garlic at the end and turn off the heat.
• Stir well to stop burning and season to taste.

Add the picked parsley leaves to the wilted green leeks and mix with your hands, seasoning as you go. Build the warm salad in the middle, pouring the soup (from a jug) around the outside like a moat. Place your crisp guanciale slices in the middle, building upwards and garnish with a few more leek strands, the garlic sippets, a glug of extra virgin olive oil and milled black pepper.

BATTERIE DE CUISINE

• Cooking pot
• Wooden spoon
• Potato ricer or masher
• Liquidiser
• Knife
• Chopping board
• Ladle
• Serving vessel
• Bowls
• Pepper mill
• Tea towel