Red Pepper Vichyssoise

This is a lovely soup to serve in the summertime, as it is served chilled. If you prefer, you can substitute sour cream for the creme fraiche. To make creme fraiche, just combine 1 cup of whipping cream with 2 tbsp of buttermilk. Once combined, cover and let stand at room temperature for 8 hours. This will make a cup of creme fraiche. Prep and cooking time does not include the chill time!

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Yields: 8 cups

Ingredients

• 4  medium red bell peppers
• 2  cups leeks, thinly sliced
• 2  tablespoons butter, melted
• 4 1⁄2 cups chicken broth
• 3  cups baking potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1  cup  whipping cream
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄8 teaspoon white pepper, ground
•  creme fraiche
•  chopped fresh chives

Directions

1. Cut the peppers into thirds; remove seeds and membranes. Place the peppers in a large saucepan; add water to cover. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for 6 minutes. Drain and let cool. This will make it easy to remove the skins of the peppers. Remove and discard the skin from the peppers. Place the peppers in a blender, and cover and process until smooth. Make sure you stop at least once to scrape down the sides of the blender. Cover and chill thoroughly.
2. Saute leeks in the butter in a Dutch oven over medium high heat, stirring constantly, until tender. Add broth and potato. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer partially covered for 30 minutes or until the potato is tender.
3. Place half of the potato-leek mixture in the container of a blender; cover and process until smooth, stopping once to scrape down the sides. Repeat the procedure with the remaining potato mixure.
4. Stir in the whipping cream, salt, and pepper. Cover and chill thoroughly.
5. Combine the pepper mixture and the potato mixture. Stir well. To serve, ladle cold soup into individual bowls. Top each serving with a dollop of Creme Fraiche and garnish with chopped chives.