Ok, I’m behind on the St. Patrick’s Day post. I hope everyone had a fun and very green St. Patrick’s Day. This post is about the day after St. Patrick’s, when you are hung over and you have left over corned beef. Spring is arriving a little slowly around here and Nor’easter storms are still flooding the East coast with snow and wind. So, what better reasons for making Potato Soup with Corned Beef.
Nourish yourself this Sunday after St. Patrick’s Day with a rich and creamy Potato Soup filled with delicious corned beef that reminds you of all the fun from the night before. This Potato Soup with Corned Beef recipe is not your typical Irish Potato Soup, which is not really so rich. This Potato Soup with Corned Beef is rich with cream and enlivened with roasted garlic. Hope you choose to enjoy some soup and nourish your weekend as well as yourself!
Ingredients
1 whole head garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons diced onion
1/2 carrot, finely chopped
2 cups chicken stock
2 large red potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (you can use new potatoes, but I like the bits of red skin in the soup for added color)
1/4 teaspoon ground dried rosemary
1/8 teaspoon ground thyme
1 Bay leaf
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup cubes of left over corned beef
salt and pepper to taste
Method
- Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- Cut off the top of the head of garlic to expose the cloves, trimming about 1/4 inch off of the top of each clove. You may need to trim individual cloves along the sides of the head. Brush the cut cloves with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, then nestle the head into a piece of aluminum foil. Bake in the preheated oven until the cloves are tender and nicely browned, about 25 minutes.
- Remove roasted garlic from oven, open foil and allow to cool slightly. When the garlic is cool enough to handle, cut the heads in half horizontally so that all of the cloves are exposed. Squeeze both halves to release the roasted cloves into a medium bowl. Keep ¼ of the garlic cloves and set aside the rest for other use, such as garlic bread (perfect to compliment the soup).
- While the garlic is roasting, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large saucepan. Stir in the onion and the carrot and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes. Pour the chicken stock into the saucepan and add the potatoes, rosemary, Bay leaf, and thyme. Bring the soup to a simmer over medium heat and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
- Remove about 1/2 of the potatoes from the pot and reserve. Place the roasted garlic cloves into a blender and add the soup, filling the pitcher no more than halfway full. Hold down the lid of the blender with a folded kitchen towel, and carefully start the blender, using a few quick pulses to get the contents moving before letting it run. Puree the soup, in batches, until smooth. Pour into a clean pot. Alternately, you can use a hand blender and puree the soup right in the cooking pot by adding the garlic to it.
- Stir the reserved potato cubes, heavy cream, and corned beef into the pureed soup and bring to a simmer. Serve, hot.
