Last week we featured a traditional Irish Feast menu perfect for hosting a dinner party on St. Patrick’s Day. But what if you aren’t up for hosting mid-week or hitting the pub, do you just let March 17 pass you by? Surely not says me, the pregnant woman who still wants to “celebrate” and then be in bed at a reasonable hour.
So I found an easy (and delicious) weeknight St. Patrick’s Day menu for ideal for preggos and families alike, Irish Potato Soup and Soda Bread. I was able to whip up this traditional Irish meal from scratch in under 90 minutes. Pretty impressive for homemade soup and fresh-from-the-oven bread, don’t you think?
My secrets to speed?
Start with the bread. Even though this requires no yeast or rising, it still takes the longest to bake so it makes sense to get this into the oven first. If you’ve got kids wash those little hands and let them help you with the mixing and kneading.
Call in the sous chef. When it comes to washing, peeling and chopping two sets of hands are always better than one. Having someone to help with the prep work always helps to get dinner on the table faster.
Clear the kitchen. Once the bread is baking and the last potato is chopped dismiss your helpers and handle the sautéing and simmering on your own. It really is a one person job that takes about five minutes. Then you can dismiss yourself for half an hour as well while everything cooks.
Don’t forget the eggs! Our dinner was delayed just slightly on account of me forgetting to boil the eggs for the garnish. Not essential to the soup but worth the wait, next time I’ll cook these during the prep stage.
And voila, a traditional Irish meal from scratch…sláinte!
Chef’s notes: This soup is meant to be chunky not smooth. I think at first I was envisioning it to be creamy and blended. Also, this recipe is quite small so you might want to double it. My batch fed three adults as a main course with no leftovers for seconds.
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