Pareve Vichyssoise: Kosher Potato Leek Soup

I love Julia Child, I love soup and I love cream. I mean, who doesn't? But in the Jewish world, because of the combination of cream and chicken stock, a true Vichyssoise soup has never been possible... Until now!

Last week at Kosherfest, our team at the Center for Kosher Culinary Arts exhibited next to the MimicCreme*** team! Their product is a Kof-K certified pareve cream product, made from almond and cashew milk, without soy or anything unnatural. And it really tastes creamy, without any weird or chemical aftertaste. It also has fewer calories than real cream, and no cholesterol or saturated fat.

Aside from having wonderful chats with MimicCreme's team throughout the conference, finding them to be just plain nice people, our team at CKCA was also singularly impressed by the versatility and uniqueness of their product.

It comes in both sweetened and unsweetened versions, and I spoke with MimicCreme's founder, Rose Anne Jarrett, about the kinds of recipes that can be developed using the product.

The sweetened version certainly works great for ice cream-style preparations, as we found out by tasting samples of coffee ice cream at their booth. And my fellow blogger Shoshana of the site Couldn't be Pareve, recently blogged about the Mexican Chocolate Ice Cream, a deep chocolate flavored with cinnamon and a wisp of spiciness, that she made with the sweetened MimicCreme. It sounds amazing. I tried a cold preparation too, with the unsweetened stuff with less amazing results. I did a frozen chocolate cream pie, but it froze too hard to cut and serve comfortably. Could have been that my ratios were off, as the taste was still good.

But back to my dreams of Julia Child and Vichyssoise. I used MimicCreme as a replacement for the cream in the classic recipe, and it worked extremely well. I recommend the below version, and look forward to trying out other vegetable bisques with this product. But first, I need more of it!

On that note, the MimicCreme team is looking for a distributor (possibly in kosher stores) for their product, and I hope it turns out, because right now it seems that the only place to get this product is online, at this link.

Pareve Vichyssoise:

4 cups leeks, white and very light green parts only, sliced
4 cups old or russet baking potatoes(very starchy, not red or new potatoes recommended), sliced
7 cups reduced or low sodium chicken stock (or enough to cover the vegetables)
1 1/2 to 3 teaspoons kosher salt or to taste
1 tsp pepper (optional)
1/2 cup MimicCreme
1 tbsp fresh chives, minced

Bring the leeks, potatoes and chicken stock to a boil in a deep, wide-bottomed saucepan. Salt lightly, cover partially, and simmer 20-30 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Turn off the heat and add cream. Purée the soup (optional) with an immersion blender or food processor. Taste and correct seasoning. After chilling the soup, you may wish to stir in a little more cream. I learned in culinary school that you have to salt hot foods when they're hot, and cold foods when they're cold. (I'm sure Julia would turn over in her grave if she heard I was serving Vichyssoise hot, but come on, I am JEWISH after all. We view the whole point of soup as being warm and comforting). So depending on whether you are serving the soup cold or hot, make sure to correct the seasoning at the temperture you'll be serving it. Garnish with a generous sprinkle of chives. Makes 4 to 5 generous servings.

Please note I loved this soup, my husband (who thinks he does not eat vegetables) loved this soup, and everyone I told about it promised to make it immediately. Don't delay. It is super-yummy!

*** I have not been paid to shill MimicCreme products on the Internet. I am doing it voluntarily, though I was provided with a sample of the product free of charge, for recipe development purposes only! As always, if anyone wants to send me or CKCA samples, I/we am/are more than willing to test them out.