For St. Patrick's Day

The people in Ireland don't eat corned beef and cabbage, its strictly an American thing.  (For the whole story, see the Good Eats episode on corned beef.  Their loss, corned beef and cabbage is fine eatin'.  Even without this American invention, the Irish still have plenty of good food.

Irish Potato Soup

This soup is one of the best things to ever happen to a potato.  Hearty and filling, this potato soup gets flavor from onions and herbs.  It’s the perfect warm up meal for a cold wet day, (like most days in Ireland).  The recipe is a variation from the Irish Potato Soup in The Frugal Gourmet on Our Immigrant Ancestors, which is listed in the “I recommend…” section.

Total Time: 35 minutes

Serves 8 to 10

• 6 – 8 slices bacon, diced
• 2 medium yellow onions, peeled and diced
• 2 pounds potatoes, peeled and diced
• 3 cups milk
• 5-1/2 cups homemade chicken stock or use canned
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, whole
• 1 cup light cream or half and half
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh chives

Heat a 6- to 8-quart stockpot, fry bacon until crisp. Remove bacon and reserve for garnish or just leave it in like I do. Reduce heat and add onions.  Sauté onions until translucent but do not let the onion brown. Add the peeled and sliced potatoes, milk, and chicken stock. Add garlic, celery seeds, and thyme. Cover and cook gently for about an hour.

Prepare a roux: Melt the butter in a small saucepan and whisk in the flour. Let the flour and butter mixture (roux) bubble for 2 minutes on medium-low heat, stirring constantly. Thicken the soup with the roux, whisking carefully to avoid lumps. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes and then puree the soup in a food processor or food blender.  WARNING:  Putting hot liquid in a blender is dangerous.  It will blow boiling hot potato soup all over you and the kitchen if you are not careful.  Blend in small patches and cover blender with a towel before turning on.

Add the cream and gently reheat, but do not boil. Season with the salt and pepper. Serve with chopped fresh chives and the crisply fried bacon (if you didn’t just blend up the bacon with the rest of the soup) as garnishes.