With folks getting ready to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow, it seemed only fitting to develop a Lent-friendly, vegetarian version of an Irish staple Leek & Potato Soup. While I can’t confirm that any of my relatives ever ate this dish, and my mother never fixed it for us, as it is such a basic soup using just a few simple ingredients, I could see where it might have been on the table of my ancestors. They left Fair Erin more than 150 years ago on one side of the family and longer ago than that on the other side, so I can’t really ask anyone about it to be sure. As I mentioned in my previous post, I dressed up this recipe a wee bit with a Cheddar Cheese-Chive Tuile, but had it not been a meat-free day, I would have been tempted to add a mound of the smoked bacon that I’d discovered at Gourmet Guild last weekend.
Serving Size: at least 8 portions as a starter
Prep Time: 45 minutes to 1 hour
Ingredients:
1 c. Yellow Onion, chopped
3 medium Yukon Gold Potatoes, cubed
3 large Leeks, cleaned and chopped
4 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter
4 c. Water
1 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Black Pepper
1 tsp. Fresh Chives, chopped
Assembly:
Nibble on end of potato that you didn’t add to the others. What? You didn’t cut off a bit of potato to have as a snack? My dad always did that for me when I was little, so I keep the tradition today. Raw, starchy, crunchy, and a bit teeth-coating, it’s a root vegetable textural thing.
I love leeks, but they are a mess to clean and prepare. My suggestion is to fix them last, after the onions and the potatoes, so the dirt is contained and it doesn’t travel to the other ingredients.
Buon appetito and Happy St. Patrick’s Day!