Very few things are more comforting than a hearty bowl of warm soup on a cold day. As winter approaches, it seems only right to share the recipe of a family-favorite soup. Comforting, flavorful and delicious, Irish vegetable soup checks every box in the list of winter soup necessities. This soup is a staple on the menu of every Irish restaurant on this Earth. Additionally, the soup typically comes with Irish brown bread, a dark tasty bread made with molasses.

The significance of this recipe to me comes from where it originates. The maternal side of my family is Irish, with the majority of my family members living in Ireland. 

Our family resides on a farm in Turloughmore, a village of 243 people shortly outside of Galway whose landmarks include a small abandoned castle, three pubs, one cemetery, a famous battlefield and one gas station. For many summers, this was where the maternal side of my family, the Fallons, would congregate. 

All of us American cousins, or “yanks” as my aunt Catriona lovingly refers to us, flock from Texas, California, Florida and Virginia to the family house. It is cold, dreary, and the sun only sets for 5 hours a day in the dead of summer.

To distract from the chill of a frigid house whose heater has not been turned on for nine months, a big pot of soup and steaming hot brown bread alongside a bag of turf for the fire is the only solution. Irish vegetable soup is a very literal name, it has virtually every root vegetable you would grow in Ireland. The soup consists of carrots, celery, onions, garlic, parsnips, potatoes and leeks, all simmered in vegetable broth until the vegetables are soft. After every vegetable has been properly softened, it is blended together with either an immersion blender, a food processor or a blender. 

The final soup should have a consistency of almost applesauce, which I know sounds weird but I promise is good. If this consistency disturbs you or you’re looking for a more rich textured soup, you can add heavy cream, but personally I enjoy the recipe as is. The bread has a nice multi-dimensional taste and texture from the molasses and Guinness that add depth of flavor. 

Ingredients

Irish Vegetable Soup:

• 1 lb of pre-peeled mini carrots cut into ½ inch slices
• 1 lb of celery stalks cut into ½ inch slices
• 2 large parsnips, peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes
• 1 large onion chopped into ¼ inch slices
• 2 to 2.5 lbs of potatoes, ideally Yukon Gold but russet potatoes are a good substitute, chopped into ½ inch cubes
• 3 tbsp of minced garlic
• 48 ounces of vegetable broth
• 1 cup of water
• 6 tbsp of butter

Brown Bread:

• 2 ¾ cups of whole wheat flour
• ¾ cup rolled oats
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
• ½ cup molasses
• 1 cup guinness
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp melted butter

Instructions

Irish Vegetable Soup:

1. Cut all of the vegetables into the sizes mentioned in the ingredients list
2. In a large pot, place the butter into the pot and turn the heat to medium
3. After the butter has fully melted, add in the garlic and onions until the onions appear semi-translucent and the garlic has become less pungent
4. Add celery and continue to cook until the onions appear to be fully translucent
5. Add the parsnips, carrots and potato and let the vegetables heat for a few minutes before adding in the vegetable broth
6. Turn the heat up to medium high and cover the pot while it brings itself to a boil
7. Let the mixture sit at a boil while covered for 45 minutes to an hour 
8. Test the soup by trying a carrot or parsnip to see how soft they’ve become. If the carrots or parsnips are not yet soft, then the soup is not ready
9. When the carrots and parsnips are fully softened, turn off the heat and let the soup cool for 15 minutes with the lid on
10. Put the cooled soup into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth with the consistency of applesauce
11. Enjoy 🙂

Note: optionally add heavy cream to the soup if you prefer a smoother texture

Brown Bread:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F 
2. Mix together the flour, oats, salt and baking soda in a large bowl until well combined 
3. Next combine the dark brown sugar into this dry ingredient mixture
4. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add in the molasses, guinness, buttermilk, honey and melted butter
5. Combine with a spatula
6. Put a small piece of parchment paper only on the bottom of a loaf pan and spray the sides of the pan with non-stick cooking spray
7. Put the mixed dough into the pan and cook in the oven for 55 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. While the outside may look as if it has finished cooking, it actually takes much longer to cook on the inside