Zucchini and Saffron Vichyssoise with Scallops

I've made this soup a few times now, and it's one of my favorite indulgences, for when you've got saffron threads you're just dying to use.  A vichyssoise is a thick, starchy soup based on potatoes and cream typically served cold.  But I'm not so much a fan of cold soups.  So I serve this one hot, and it's definitely a winner.  The original recipe comes from epicurious, so you can see what you need and in what quantities, but I'll show you the pictures and tell you my process.

Ingredients: zucchini, onion, potatoes, butter, garlic, saffron, chicken broth, bay leaf, thyme, heavy cream, lemon juice, salt and pepper, scallops, and bacon for garnish (not in the original recipe, but how could i resist?)

For this dish I peel the zucchini and the potatoes completely.  I cut them both into small cubes as well as the onion.  First saute the onion in the butter.  Once softened add the potatoes, garlic, and saffron and cook for a minute.  

Next add the broth and your spices (bay leaf, thyme) and cook over medium/medium-low heat until the potatoes are softened, about 15-20 minutes depending on your potatoes.  

Add the zucchini last because it is already soft enough it shouldn't need to cook as long as the potatoes.  After about 10 minutes it should be softened enough.

At this point, bust out your immersion blender (or the regular blender if you don't have the handheld variety), and puree the soup nicely.  The recipe mentions pouring through a fine sieve, but I don't like losing some of the thick starchiness, so I skip that step, opting to leave every bit of the soup intact.  At this point you can add the cream, lemon juice, and salt/pepper.

If you want cold soup let it cool, then put it in the fridge (don't put it directly into the fridge or you ruin the integrity of the flavors from the cold-shock).  But if you want it served warm you can let it sit on low heat at this point, or leave the burner off until right before you're ready to serve it and turn the heat back up.

This soup is great on it's own, but if you need some meat with your dinner, the scallops are an excellent accompaniment.  Get the large sea scallops and slice them horizontally into smaller discs.  Since I'm a glutton for all things pork fat, I obviously decided a bacon garnish was necessary moreso than a zucchini garnish, so in a small skillet render some chopped bacon.  Remove from heat and to the bacon grease in the pan you can add a little butter and then sear your scallops.  Season with salt and pepper first, then add the scallop to the medium/medium-high heated skillet.  You'll only need to cook for about a minute on each side.  You want to cook the scallop through, but overcook it and you get a tough mess so err on the side of less time on the stove.  

To serve, plate (bowl?) your soup.  Add some scallop slices and sprinkle with bacon.  The soup provides a nice thick pillow for the scallops and the flavors really do play well together.