I saw "arugula vichysoisse" mentioned as a menu item on the internet, and thought, "wow!" As I envisioned it, it would take little more than the addition of arugula, and possibly white pepper for seasoning, to put some razzle dazzle on an otherwise ordinary pureed potato and leek soup. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
And that's how it turned out. We had it for lunch today with a green salad made from the first greens I've harvested from my modest little vegetable patch.
Here's the recipe:
Total prep time: about 30 minutes. Makes 1 quart.
2 tbslp butter
1 1/2 c sliced, clean leek (one big leek)
1 1/2 c diced russet potato (about two medium potatoes)
3 cups chicken (or vegetable broth)
2/3 c cream
1 cup arugula, packed
1/2 tsp white pepper
1 teaspoon chopped chives
In about a 4 qt saucepan, saute leeks in melted butter. When soft, add potatoes and 2 cups of the chicken broth. Simmer until potatoes are cooked through, add arugula, cook one minute more, then remove to a blender. Add cream and white pepper, and whiz until the soup is cleanly pureed but some color bits of arugula remain. Add chives and remaining chicken broth until the desired consistency is reached (I used all three cups.