My favorite Irish food

Though many restaurants, taverns and families serve corned beef and cabbage in a nod to St. Patrick's Day, I am not one of them. A nice piece of salmon or trout is my preferred main dish to celebrate my Irish heritage. If I am feeling fancy, I start the meal with a small bowl of potato watercress soup. If I am feeling lazy, the soup is the main course, with a salad on the side. And that's just what we had for dinner this last week. 

I don't follow a recipe for this soup. It's by guess and by golly as I go along: salute chopped onions in butter, add peeled and roughly chopped Yukon gold or similar potatoes. Simmer in broth until the potatoes are fork tender. I use commercial vegetable or chicken broth. I put the liquid and half the veggies in the Cuisinart, along with a handful of watercress leaves, and give it a whirl. You can make an entirely smooth soup if you prefer, but I keep half the potatoes and onions in pieces in the liquid, because Mark is a fan of chunky soup. (DON'T YOU HATE IT WHEN AUTO CORRECT TURNS SAUTE INTO SALUTE AND THE BLOGGER NEVER NOTICES IT! Saute those onions. No need to stand at attention. Thanks to my sweet husband who always reads my posts and just noticed this glitch.)

The veggies and thick soup make this a great winter comfort food — but the watercress gives it a vibrant taste of Spring. Should I want to go all out and all Irish, I have Darina Allen's cookbook, "A Year at Ballymaloe" on my bookshelf for inspiration and recipes! Ballymaloe's restaurant, cooking school and garden (below) brought respect and international prestige to Irish cuisine. They put out a number of cookbooks, all of them worth a look. 

Comments

[Jane Strong]

What a lovely idea! I'm not too fond of corned beef and cabbage myself. I think I'll make leek and potato soup, best for a Welsh person, don't you think? Thanks for the inspiration.

[Linda Brazill]

When I think of it, I love that soup with leeks. I tend to have potatoes and regular onions on hand most of the time, so that's usually what gets used.

[Nell]

That shot of the garden at Ballymaloe filled with kitchen staff is pure delight: order and super-abundance combined.

As I put on boots to head out to the garden, I notice that the staff who should be accompanying me in cutting down the remains of last season are nowhere to be found. How odd; they must be taking the week off.

[Linda Brazill]

I am sure your hard-working staff deserves a week off. How thoughtful of you!

[Kris P]

It sounds and looks yummy. Not being much of a cook myself, I was initially confused by the reference to saluting chopped onions in butter, thinking it must be a term for some cooking technique I'm unfamiliar with ;)

[Sandra Lawrence]

Seen on social network:

"The guy who invented auto-correct should burn in hello!"

[Peter/Outlaw]

Looks and sounds like a delicious soup, perfect for the day. I read saute and wouldn't have noticed salute had you not mentioned it. Glad you did, though as the thought of standing at attention for onions brought a chuckle.