Vichyssois and Cannellini Walnut Fettucini

I've always loved Vichyssois, and it sounds ways more pretentious than it is. It's really just a leek and potato soup served cold. We served the soup with some pasta that we bought at the farmers market, it's super fresh and delicious. I kept the pasta pretty simple since I wanted to highlight the actual noodles. Stephen decided to pair our meal with a side of Kafka. 

Metamorphosis by Kafka

1 tbl of deep melancholy

1 1/2 tbl of existential tears

Vichyssois

4 med. Yukon Gold potatoes, diced into 1 inch cubes

4 small leeks, diced (only the white and pale green parts)

1 head of garlic, roasted in the oven

5 cups of vegetable broth

1 1/2 tsp sage

1 tbl butter, olive oil or vegan butter

salt and pepper to taste

fresh dill for garnish

Roast garlic in an oven at 400F for about an hour. It's most time efficient to do this right at the beginning. In the meantime, saute the leeks  in butter in a large soup pot on medium high. Crushing the sage leaves, add to the pot. Saute for about 7 minutes, or until tender. 

Add the potatoes and broth. Cover for about 40 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. After the potatoes are tender, puree the soup in a blender in small increments so you don't have hot soup explode on your face. You'll probably do this 3 or 4 times. Each time you are pureeing the soup, squeeze some of the roasted garlic into the blender. Salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

Garnish with some fresh dill.

Cannellini Walnut Fettucini

1 pkg Fettucini, we used a dill, herb pasta from the farmer's market

1 cup toasted walnuts, roughly chopped

1 cups cannellini beans, or similar white beans

2 tbl olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1tbl fresh dill, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

If using canned beans this will go buy a lot quicker, but if you are using dried start hydrating your beans as you are starting the meal - or a day in advance. There's not much worse than hungrily waiting for your beans to hydrate. Otherwise, if you've got everything ready this pasta is super quick to make. 

In a large bowl toss the all of the ingredients with the fettucini - making sure to get everything nice and incorporated. This dish is good served room temperature. 

Again, this is a great cold meal for a hot night. This has been the theme of my recipes for a while, but there's nothing I love more than a refreshing meal out on the porch.