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Potato & leek vichyssoise with crispy bacon & chives

It has been said that this soup comes from Vichy in France, but rumour has it that the chef who created it had some Vichy roots and the link is no more than that. It is supposed to be served cold, but personally I am not one for cold potato soup. So I turned up the heat and added one of my favourite ingredients, bacon, which has been crisped up to within a very inch of its life, adding some welcome crunch and saltiness, along with a drizzle of cream and a few snips of chives.

Time from start to finish: 35 minutes

Serves: 4

Equipment: Large pan, small frying pan, stick or standard blender, scissors

50g butter

2 large leeks

2 large floury potatoes

100ml white wine

1 litre good-quality chicken stock (fresh is best to use here)

75g oak-smoked bacon lardons or cubed pancetta

A little double cream (optional)

Small handful of fresh chives

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

+ Put a large pan on a low heat with the butter. While it is heating up, trim the leeks, remove any tough outer leaves, split them in half lengthways and wash really well before finely slicing. Add to the pan and cook gently for about 10 minutes until really soft, stirring from time to time.

+ Meanwhile, peel and chop the potatoes into bite-sized chunks. Add to the leeks (once they are cooked) along with the wine. Allow the wine to bubble down for 2–3 minutes before adding the stock and some salt and pepper. Then turn up the heat and bring to the boil. Let the soup bubble away for 10–15 minutes until the potato is nice and tender.

+ While the soup is cooking, place a small frying pan on a high heat. Once hot, add the bacon (or pancetta) lardons and fry for 3–4 minutes, stirring from time to time, until crisp and golden. Spoon onto kitchen paper to drain, and set aside.

+ Using a stick blender, carefully blitz the now-cooked soup until really smooth. A jug blender does the trick also; just be careful to blend in a couple of batches.

+ Taste the soup, adding more salt and pepper if you think it needs it (but allowing for the saltiness of the bacon) and then ladle into four serving bowls. Swirl a little cream on top of each, if using, snip the chives over and finally scatter with the cooked lardons to serve.