Irish potato soup
Anraith prátaí: leek and potato soup with buttermilk swirl
Potato soup is what Irish pubs and farmhouse kitchens set down on a wet afternoon from Kerry to Mayo, always with a heel of brown soda bread. Floury potatoes, onion and leek are sweated in butter and simmered in stock, then blended to a velvety, comforting soup with a gentle onion sweetness. A swirl of buttermilk and chives adds freshness. Chef's tip: sweat the leeks slowly without browning them; colour makes the soup taste bitter and turns it grey.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 1 ⅜ oz butter
- 1 onionchopped
- 2 leekswhite and pale green parts, sliced
- 1 ½ lb potatoesfloury, peeled and cubed
- 4 ¼ cups vegetable stock
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- ¾ cup milk
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp white pepper
- 4 tbsp buttermilk or cream (optional)to serve
- 1 tbsp chives (optional)snipped
Shop this recipe on Amazon
What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/4 doneStep 2: Add the 1 ½ lb potatoes, 4 ¼ cups vegetable stock and 2 sprigs fresh thyme, bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes, until the potatoes break when pressed with a spoon.
22 minStep 3: Remove the thyme stalks and blend until smooth, then stir in the ¾ cup milk and reheat gently without boiling.
5 minStep 4: Season with 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp white pepper; the soup should coat the back of a spoon. A common mistake is under-salting potato soup, which tastes flat. Serve with a swirl of 4 tbsp buttermilk or cream and the 1 tbsp chives.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 290 kcal
- Protein
- 7 g
- Carbs
- 36 g
- Fat
- 13 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does irish potato soup take?
- About 50 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 35 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Tiyula itumBlack beef soup
Tiyula itum, 'black soup', is the pride of the Tausug people of Sulu in the far south of the Philippines, cooked for weddings, Eid celebrations and when guests come home. Beef (it is a halal, pork-free dish) is simmered with ginger, lemongrass and turmeric, then darkened with pamapa itum, a paste of grated coconut toasted until almost black and pounded with spices. The broth looks dramatic but tastes smoky, earthy and gently peppery, with heat from chillies. Serve it with plain rice. Chef's tip: toast the coconut slowly, stirring all the time, until it is very dark brown but not ashy; burnt-to-ash coconut tastes bitter and ruins the soup.
Filipino
Ful nabitSprouted fava bean soup
Sprouted beans are ladled out with their cooking liquor in Cairo homes when the weather turns cold or someone is feeling run down, and Egyptians swear by the broth as a pick-me-up. The beans are soaked and left to sprout for a few days, then simmered with onion, garlic and cumin into a light, earthy soup that is sharpened at the table with plenty of lemon. You can eat the beans with a spoon or pop them from their skins. Allow 3 to 4 days for sprouting, although the hands-on work is only about 20 minutes. People with G6PD deficiency (favism) must not eat fava beans. Chef's tip: stop the sprouting when the shoots are about 1 cm long; longer sprouts taste grassy and bitter.
Egyptian
Miso soup
Miso soup (味噌汁) is drunk every day in homes all over Japan, at breakfast as well as dinner, beside a bowl of rice. The base is dashi; this vegan version uses kombu and dried shiitake instead of bonito, which gives it a deep, rounded flavour. Silken tofu and wakame seaweed are the classic fillings. It takes ten minutes; just remember not to boil the miso. Chef's tip: add the miso at the very end and never let it boil. Boiling kills the miso's fresh, fermented aroma; Japanese cooks say the soup should only 'smile', with the surface barely trembling.
Japanese