Cajun vichyssoise

Ah, the joys of cleaning out your inbox. In doing so, I stumbled across a recipe from a friend, a dish he made at his birthday dinner party well over a month ago. The evening was Cajun-themed. He is Canadian, and his ancestors -- Acadians -- were among those who migrated south to New Orleans. Over time, Acadian became Cajun in the vernacular, and a culture -- and cuisine -- was born.

This dish was a major winner. It's basically vichyssoise, but sweet potatoes were evidently more available for the Acadians, and so the recipe was adapted. The dose of cayenne cinches it. Recipe after the jump.

4 c. chicken stock

2-3 sweet potatoes (1.5 lbs),peeled and quartered

2 small leeks chopped, white and tender greensonly

1/2 tsp white pepper

2 tsp ginger, peeled and grated

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 c. heavy cream

Sea salt

Chopped chives as garnish

 

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine stock,potatoes and leeks. Bring to a boil and reduce to medium-low, cover and simmer forabout 20 minutes. (Potatoes should be tender, not mushy.)

 

Making in batches if needed, combine above mixturewith white pepper, ginger and cayenne in a food processor until asmooth purée forms. 

 

Pour into a larger bowl, and let cool tolukewarm/room temp.  Stir in the cream and season to taste with salt. Cover and chill for at least four hours to two days.

 

Season to taste. Garnish with chives. Servecold.