Sustainable Seafood: Smoked Salmon Vichyssoise

Monterey Bay Aquarium's Cooking for Solutions offers a wide range of recipes with the help of Seafood Watch® to provide insight on the most environmentally friendly ways to cook delicious seafood.

Today's recipe was created by Chad Greer, a chef at Lark Creek Blue. Seafood Watch® currently recommends wild-caught salmon from Alaska. Check here for any updates to this recommendation since posting.

Smoked Salmon Vichyssoise (serves 6)

Ingredients

• 3 medium leeks, white parts chopped, mashed

• 1 Spanish onion diced

• 1 red onion, diced

• 3 shallots, dice

• Olive oil

• 1 qt. chicken or vegetable stock

• 1 lb. Yukon gold potatoes, peeled, cut in 1/2" dice, reserved in water to avoid browning

• Bunch thyme

• 2 bay leaves

• 15 black peppercorns

• 1/2 cup crème fraîche

• 8 oz. smoked salmon

• Salt

• White pepper

• 1 bunch chives, finely chopped, for garnish

Instructions

In heavy-bottom pot, sweat all onions in a little bit of olive oil. Season with salt and white pepper. Continue to cook on low heat until all onions are very soft and sweet. Stir often and do not allow to brown, about 15 minutes. Add stock and turn up heat to bring to a simmer. Make a sachet with thyme, bay leaves, and peppercorns. Add potatoes and sachet, and season again with salt and white pepper. Be light on salt to compensate for saltiness of the salmon later. Simmer until potatoes are fully cooked and soup has a nice onion flavor, about 25 minutes. Remove sachet and purée soup in blender until very smooth, adding a little crème fraîche to each batch. Chill completely.

To serve

Ladle into chilled soup bowls. Garnish with flaked smoked salmon and chopped chives. Enjoy!

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References and Resources

• Savor Sustainability: Recipes, Chefs & Seafood Champions from Cooking for Solutions 2011. Monterey Bay Aquarium, 2011.

• “Seafood Search.” Fishing and Farming Methods from the Seafood Watch Program at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, http://www.seafoodwatch.org/seafood-recommendations/groups/salmon/overview?q=Salmon&t=salmon