Irish potato leek soup

Irish potato leek soup is so delicious and very easy to make. If you have a problem with your weight, enjoy it cold; in biochemical terms, the carbohydrate retrogrades forming more resistant starch. Then much of it passes through the small-intestine undigested, drastically slowing the rise of blood glucose and its storage as fat.

Instead that starch is consumed in the colon by the microbiota and is not turned into glucose but rather very important short-chain fatty acids; butyrate in particular has a powerful influence on insulin resistance^[6].

When one thinks of Ireland and potatoes, your thoughts are probably of the great Irish famine of about 170 years ago during which nearly a million people died of starvation; that was the making of the United States. The cream of Eire emigrated to the New-World.

Living in Illinois we were frequently reminded of the great contribution they have made to every level of society in the USA. Even the Chicago-river turns green on St Patrick's Day.

It takes only ten minutes to prepare the vegetables and another half an hour to cook this marvelous soup; a third of that if you use pressure. 

And if you think of the Netherlands, your thoughts probably turn to tulips. But when I consider our years living in Holland, I think of prei; that is the delicious vegetable that the English-speaking world calls a leek.

She is the queen of Holland. Not a very elegant lady whilst reigning in her fields but, once you pluck her, she makes the most delicious and nourishing soup.

And then if you find it a bit plain, you can fiddle with various stocks to make it more interesting; personally I think the subtle flavours of leek and potato take a lot of beating. We do however use a salmon or chicken-based bouillon occasionally.

It makes a perfect fit on our easy soup recipes page.

This page was last updated by Bernard Preston on 7th January, 2021.

Growing leeks for their wonderful flavour is a must for the big garden; the allicin benefits alone make it worthwhile for your well-being.

Of course, it is not only the Irish and the Dutch who can grow potatoes; here are a bucketful from our own garden.

New potatoes are less fattening, if you can find them. That's because of the resistant starch which defies digestion to sugars in the small-intestine. Understanding net carbs helps too; remember the fibre can be deducted.

Irish potato leek soup

Irish potato leek soup has many variations; try adding some salmon to make a complete dinner.

• HOW TO GROW CHILLI ...you need only one chilli plant. Jalapenos and peppadews are my favourites.
  
• EXERCISE AND CHOLESTEROL ...
• Banting diet

Use the Sit search function in the menu bar above to find these topics.

Vichyssoise

Vichyssoise is just the French name for an Irish potato and leek soup; it is enjoyed cold. Overnight storage of potato in the fridge makes it significantly less fattening; the carbohydrate retrogrades making it less digestible in the small intestine; instead it's fermented in the colon.

Read more about resistant starch. 

As I said above you could use a pressure-cooker; it reduces the time considerably, saving you electricity too.

• The green part of your leek needs to be carefully washed; it is usually full of grit. Cut off the upper-third, split them in half, and rinse thoroughly.
  
• Drop a good dollop of butter into a pot, turn to moderate heat and toss in your chopped-leeks.
• Peel and clean the other ingredients, and add them; stir occasionally.

Chicken Bones broth recipe

Chicken bones broth is a cartilage-rich stock that Harvard Medical school found to be more effective that medication for stubborn inflammatory-arthridites.

 Now you have two options.

1. Chicken based stock
2. Salmon filet

Both are great, and I recommend you try both. For the first, you use your chicken-bones bouillon.

For the second, add two-cups of boiling water to your ingredients, and the salmon, chopped in pieces.

Add the condiments, cover and cook on low heat for 20 to 30 minutes. Remove the bay leaf, and you can either liquidise, or ladle straight to your soup-bowls. Add a dollop of cream, and sprinkle with chives and parsley. It is so delicious; what we call healthy slow food, made fast.

Bernie's leek and salmon soup

Bernie's leek and salmon soup is without equal rich in anti inflammatory omega-3 and allicin; and a heap of other nutritious phytochemicals.

Do you have time on your hands? Love to fiddle in the kitchen? This is the queen of all soups. You follow the same recipe as above but, instead of the chicken-stock or filet of fatty fish, you make a salmon bouillon.

It means a trip to the fish market to buy a salmon-skeleton and head once the fillets have been removed; it costs me only one euro.

There is so much goodness remaining, and it is usually consigned to the gannets. No wonder our seas are being denuded at such an alarming rate; starvation and obesity face the world in equal measure.

We waste so much, and eat the wrong stuff; the refined highly-glycemic starches. It is they that makes us obese and turn us into diabetics, not the fat in your salmon.

Potatoes alas are also highly glycemic if they come from cold-storage. That's why we grow them. Cooling them overnight so they can retrograde helps, but generally the obese should avoid spuds, or strictly limit the load; very small portions and no french fries.

But you will enjoy an Irish potato leek soup; with salmon, it is to die for. Astonishingly, it is proven to be heart and cartilage protective. You might just live to a happy, zestful ninety; with your marbles intact, because the omega-3 protects your brain too. Blue Zone longevity is surely a topic that must intrigue all of us, not so?

You will find the recipe to make the bouillon at the fish-oil benefits page lower down. Once you have bought your salmon skeleton, it takes three-quarters of an hour of cooking and two minutes of fiddle to remove the bones; much less, of course, in the pressure cooker. Voilà, it is finished.

Banting diet

The latest fad to hit the poor dieters of his world is the Banting diet; whilst it has much to offer, like all fashions, it is so extreme that it's unsustainable for many, I suspect. This Irish potato leek soup would certainly not find favour with its protagonists, certainly if eaten hot. 

It is based on a low carbohydrate and very high fat diet. There significant oils in the chicken bones and salmon filet; you could go further by adding a dollop of double-thick cream, or just a lump of butter.

But it is the potato that the banting folk will be avoiding. Potato does indeed have a high glycemic index when eaten immediately after boiling but, in the context of the whole meal, with plenty of fat and protein, it's acceptable. If you are concerned use sweet potato instead.

Did you know that butter is back? It should never have been banished to Coventry in the first place. Now it is margarine's turn to take a well-deserved break in the wilderness; strictly avoid all hydrogenated fats.

• Banting diet rebuttal^[5]
• Fish oil health benefits^[3]

Frailty syndrome

The premature onset and rapid progression of aging, weight loss and weakness is known as frailty syndrome. It has been shown to be strongly related to a deficiency of four vitamins.

The potato is surprisingly rich in vitamin C. The leeks have reasonably good amounts of the other three; do you know what they are?

Mesothelioma

Do you have asbestos pipes delivering water to your neighbourhood? Do not drink it; I am not crazy about bottled either because of the plastic micro-particles.

Asbestos causes one of the most serious tumours in lungs if breathed in, and in the gut if ingested. Mesothelioma^[4] is nasty stuff.

Healthy lifestyle

• Body mass index < 25
• Never having smoked
• High-quality diet
• Low commercial alcohol intake
• Regular exercise
• Adequate sleep

How does your lifestyle rate? If it's good then researchers have found you will have half the risk of Long Covid.

Regularly enjoying these braised new potatoes would certainly contribute to a high-quality diet; planting, heaping and harvesting them will also constitute regular exercise.

Potato latkes

Potato latkes made from freshly-lifted new potatoes are a gem; they contain large amounts of resistant starch. They are traditional fare in the Jewish community at Hanukkah.

• Best potato latkes recipe ever
  

Irish Potato Leek Soup

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