Giada's Italian Vichyssoise for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

There's only so many days of summer left so time to get out those last cold soups of summer like this Italian Vichyssoise by Giada De Laurentiis from Food Network. 

I like the addition of the arugula to the vichyssoise and the mascarpone, but since I didn't have mascarpone readily available, I decided to use Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream, that is also thick and creamy and since I subbed in veggie stock too, it makes this creamy soup vegan. I also used watercress in place of the arugula--it looked fresher. I didn't make the croutons in Giada's recipe as I am currently avoiding bread, but did keep the grape tomatoes to garnish. Finally, I only pureed about 2/3 of the soup to leave a little texture. My changes to the recipe are in red below.
  

Italian Vichyssoise
Slightly Adpated from Giada De Laurentiis via FoodNetwork.com

(Serves 4)

3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (I used 2 Tbsp)

2 large or 4 small shallots, thinly sliced

3/4 tsp salt (or to taste--I used less)
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 lbs (about 2 medium) russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces

3 cups low-sodium chicken broth (I used veggie broth)

1 cup arugula (I used watercress)

1/2 cup mascarpone, at room temperature (I used Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream)

Croutons:

2 (1/2-inch thick) slices sourdough or multi-grain bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 tsp kosher salt

8 cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered

For the Soup: In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Add the potatoes, chicken broth, and arugula. Bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer until the potatoes are very tender, about 15 minutes. In batches, ladle the mixture into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. (Note: I blended about 2/3 of the soup rather than all of it.) Return the soup to the saucepan and whisk in the cheese, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Let the soup cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour until ready to serve. Before serving, adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, to taste.

  

For the Croutons: Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a small bowl, toss together the bread, oil, and salt until coated. Spread in a single layer on a small baking sheet. Bake until golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes.

To serve: Ladle the soup into small bowls. Garnish with croutons and cherry tomatoes.

 

Notes/Results: A simple potato soup that works hot or cold and is elevated by the peppery flavor of the watercress and the richness of the mascarpone--or in this case, tofu-based sour cream. I like the changes I made to the recipe but I am sure Giada's version is great too. I ate a small bowl of it warm and then a second bowl after it chilled and liked it both ways. I would make it again.
  

Linking up at I Heart Cooking Clubs where this week's theme is our August Monthly Ingredient/Dish Challenge--Chilly Delights--cold and tasty recipes recipes from our current or previous IHCC chefs.  

 
Lets take a look into the Souper Sundays kitchen and see who is here.

Tina of Squirrel Head Manor shared her lunch of Turkey Guacamole Salad and said, "When Doug travels I usually eat lunch in my office and read. This isn't the best photo and I wish I'd taken a snap prior to mixing it all up so you could see the yummy bits.  We have butter lettuce, fresh tomatoes, red onion, cucumbers, hard boiled egg, blue cheese crumbles, turkey and guacamole.  It's a hearty enough lunch and I can sit and read on my Kindle instead of fielding questions about why I'm eating alone in the break room."

 
Judee of Gluten Free A-Z Blog shared this tasty Spiralized Vegetable Salad with Zucchini and Beets and said, "Looking for a creative way to serve your vegetables?  Spiralize them and make them into a salad. I spiralized zucchini and beets for this colorful salad and placed them over fresh spinach leaves. The flavors mingled beautifully, and it was light and easy to eat."

 
Mahalo, Tina and Judee--for joining in this week!
 
About Souper Sundays:

Souper Sundays (going since 2008) now has a format of a picture link each week where anyone interested can post their soups, salads, or sandwiches at any time during the week and I post a recap of the entries the following week.

(If you aren't familiar with Souper Sundays, you can read about of the origins of it here. 

If you would like to join in Souper (Soup, Salad, and Sammie) Sundays, I would love to have you! Here's how...

To join in this week's Souper Sunday's linkup with your soup, salad or sandwich:

• Link up your soup (stew, chili, soupy curries, etc. are fine), salad, or sandwich dish, (preferably one from the current week or month--but we'll take older posts too) on the picture link below and leave a comment on this post so I am sure not to miss you. Also please see below for what to do on your blog post that you link up her in order to be included in the weekly round-up.

and 

On your entry post (on your blog):

• Mention Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen and link back to this post. (Not to be a pain but it's polite and only fair to link back to events you link up at--so if you link a post up here without linking back to it on your post, it will be removed.)
• You are welcome to add the Souper Sundays logo to your post and/or blog (optional).

An InLinkz Link-up

Have a happy, healthy week!