Potato Soup

First Published in the Evening Herald on Thursday 11th March, 2010.
No matter how much pizza, pasta and chicken chow mein we eat, the Irish love affair with the potato will never fade.

St. Patrick’s Day is as good a day as any to celebrate the potato. I recommend you roast a chicken or some rib beef on the bone and serve three kinds of potatoes - buttery mash, duck fat roasties and gratin dauphinoise.

For a more traditional dish try some dry-cured loin of bacon (try JJ Youngs in Celbridge and Clane) with cabbage and buttery mashed potatoes – a dish to please any gourmand.

Potato and Smoked Bacon Soup

There is “eatin and drinkin” in this soup. To make the soup a little more posh use Italian Smoked Pancetta (try Nolan’s Terenure or one of the Italian shops) instead of streaky bacon.

Ingredients: 600g of Potatoes, peeled and cut into dice, 200g of Onions peeled and cut into dice, 50g Butter, 4-6 Rashers of Smoked Streaky Bacon cut into dice, 900ml Chicken or Veg. Stock, 2 tbs chopped fresh Mint (or Parsley),100g Crème Fraiche., Salt and Pepper.

Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan and once it foams add the bacon. Cook until the bacon begins to crisp and then add the potatoes and onions, stirring until they are fully coated in butter. Put a lid on the pot, turn the heat to low and sweat for 10-15 minutes.

Add the stock and the chopped mint and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Purée the soup with a stick blender or in a liquidizer. Add the crème fraiche, taste and adjust the seasoning. Thin the soup with a little milk if you wish.

Serve with crusty brown or white soda bread.