In 2001, my two sisters & I took our mother to Ireland, home of her ancestors, for her 60th birthday.  Kelly came with us.

Our first true Irish Pub in Dublin, Ireland. Linda, Gabu, Andi, Diane & Kelly; May, 2001.

It was the first time I had traveled with my sisters & Mom as adults.  Diane did all of the planning of the trip.  She did an awesome job.  We stayed at bed & breakfasts and a castle and had a van and driver for the entire trip.

Blarney Castle, Cork, Ireland. Home of the Blarney Stone.

Ireland is a beautiful country and we had so many wonderful experiences while we were there.  I didn’t want to come home; I wanted Eric & Andrew to join us there!  I loved the beauty of the country, the way the people spoke, the culture, the history, the legends & folktales and the food.  Always the food with us!

One tradition that originated with that trip was buying a cookbook from a new country we were visiting.  The cookbooks are usually “for” Eric, but truth be told, we all enjoy using them.  Kelly & I picked up Matthew Drennan’s Classic Irish on that trip.  The pictures were fantastic and the recipes looked fairly simple but different from what we were used to making.  The “Irishness” of the phrasing in the recipe directions makes it all the better.

The Leek & Potato Soup recipe from this cookbook gave me my first taste of leeks, which I now love.  Leeks are like scallions on massive amounts of steroids.  They’re not too difficult to find in the grocery store and worth the bit of chopping and cleaning they require.

Leeks tend to be gritty so they must be washed thoroughly.

Leek & Potato Soup (adapted from Classic Irish by Matthew Drennan)              Serves 4; Prep time: 30 minutes; Cook time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds leeks, about 6 medium
• 1 pound potatoes
• 8 tablespoons butter
• 1 large thyme sprig or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 1/4 cups chicken stock
• salt & pepper to taste
• sour cream and additional thyme, as garnish

Directions:

Cut off the tops and roots of the leeks and peel away any coarse outer leaves.  Slice the leeks and wash them in cold running water.  Peel and dice the potatoes into 1-inch cubes and pat them dry with a paper towel.

Matthew says, “Cut the potatoes into rough dice.” Love they way the Irish talk!

Melt the butter in a large saucepot over medium heat.  When the butter is melted, add the leeks and the thyme sprig or dried thyme. Cover the pot and cook for 4-5 minutes until the leeks are softened.  Add the potato pieces and just enough cold water to cover the vegetables, about 2 1/4 cups.  Cover the pot and cook over low heat for 30 minutes.

Add the potatoes to the leeks, thyme and butter and barely cover with water.

Add the chicken stock, salt & pepper and allow the soup to simmer, covered, for another 30 minutes. When the soup is done, remove the stem from the thyme if a sprig was used allowing the leaves which have fallen off to remain in the soup. The soup can be served as it is or it can be pureed with a wand blender.  Serve the soup with a dollop of sour cream and a garnish of thyme, if desired.

Puree the soup or leave it “peasant style”.

We usually pair our soup with bread and this one is no exception.  A hearty bread would go well with this mild tasting soup.  We favor slices of French bread topped with bleu cheese and broiled for just a minute as our accompaniment to the Leek & Potato soup.

French bread topped with bleu cheese completes the meal.

Wonderful, classic, Irish!     ~Linda

Leek & Potato Soup (adapted from Classic Irish by Matthew Drennan)              Serves 4; Prep time: 30 minutes; Cook time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds leeks, about 6 medium
• 1 pound potatoes
• 8 tablespoons butter
• 1 large thyme sprig or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 1/4 cups chicken stock
• salt & pepper to taste
• sour cream and additional thyme, as garnish

Directions:

Cut off the tops and roots of the leeks and peel away any coarse outer leaves.  Slice the leeks and wash them in cold running water.  Peel and dice the potatoes into 1-inch cubes and pat them dry with a paper towel.

Melt the butter in a large saucepot over medium heat.  When the butter is melted, add the leeks and the thyme sprig or dried thyme. Cover the pot and cook for 4-5 minutes until the leeks are softened.  Add the potato pieces and just enough cold water to cover the vegetables, about 2 1/4 cups.  Cover the pot and cook over low heat for 30 minutes.

Add the chicken stock, salt & pepper and allow the soup to simmer, covered, for another 30 minutes. When the soup is done, remove the stem from the thyme if a sprig was used allowing the leaves which have fallen off to remain in the soup. The soup can be served as it is or it can be pureed with a wand blender.  Serve the soup with a dollop of sour cream and a garnish of thyme, if desired, with a side of a hearty bread.