Potato Soup with Crispy Rashers Recipe: A Bowlful of Irish Comfort
There are few things more deeply woven into the fabric of Irish daily life than the potato, and nowhere does it shine more humbly or more brilliantly than in a pot of thick, floury potato soup. This is not a restaurant dish dressed up with swirls of cream and microherbs — it is the real thing, the kind of soup that has been ladled out on cold Monday mornings in farmhouse kitchens from Donegal to Cork for well over two centuries. It arrived out of necessity, born in an era when potatoes were the cornerstone of the Irish diet, and it has stayed because nothing else quite does the job so well.
The soup itself is straightforward almost to the point of modesty: onion, potato, stock, a little butter, and time. What transforms it from frugal to magnificent is the rasher — the same back bacon that anchors a proper full Irish breakfast. The Irish back rasher — cut thicker than streaky bacon, cured with a gentle saltiness — is crisped in a hot pan until it shatters at the tap of a spoon. Scattered across the surface of a bowl of blitzed potato soup, it provides everything the soup is not: crunch, savouriness, and a little drama. It is a pairing that has appeared on Irish kitchen tables for generations, stretching rashers a little further during leaner times, and it remains just as satisfying today.
What makes this soup distinctly Irish rather than merely a potato soup is the variety of spud you choose. A floury potato — a Rooster, Kerr’s Pink, or Golden Wonder — is absolutely essential. These varieties break down readily in the heat, giving the soup its characteristic thick, almost velvety body without the need for much cream or thickening agent. A waxy potato will leave you with something thin and slightly gluey, which is not at all what we are after. Ask at your local market or greengrocer; in Ireland you will have no trouble, and the extra effort of seeking them out is repaid in every spoonful.
Ingredients
- 900g (2 lb) floury potatoes (Rooster or Kerr’s Pink), peeled and diced into roughly 2cm cubes
- 2 medium onions, peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
- 40g (1½ oz) butter
- 1 tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil
- 1.2 litres (2 pints) good chicken or vegetable stock
- 150ml (5 fl oz) full-fat milk
- Salt and freshly ground white pepper, to taste
- 6 slices Irish back rashers (bacon)
- Small bunch of fresh chives, finely snipped, to serve
Method
- Melt the butter with the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan over a medium-low heat. Add the onions and a good pinch of salt, and cook gently for 8–10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are completely soft and translucent but not coloured.
- Add the crushed garlic and cook for a further 1–2 minutes, stirring, until fragrant.
- Tip in the diced potatoes and stir well to coat them in the buttery onion mixture. Pour over the stock, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 20–25 minutes until the potatoes are completely tender and beginning to break apart at the edges.
- Remove the pan from the heat. Using a stick blender, blitz the soup until it is smooth and thick. Alternatively, ladle it in batches into a standing blender — take care, as the liquid will be very hot. Return the blended soup to the pan.
- Pour in the milk and stir through. Return the pan to a low heat and warm gently for 3–4 minutes. Taste carefully and adjust the seasoning with salt and white pepper. If the soup seems thicker than you like, add a splash more hot stock or milk to loosen it slightly.
- While the soup warms through, cook the rashers. Place them in a dry, cold frying pan, then set over a medium-high heat. Cook for 3–4 minutes per side until deeply golden and very crisp. Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper and allow to rest for 2 minutes — they will crisp further as they cool. Break or roughly chop each rasher into shards.
- Ladle the hot soup into warmed bowls. Scatter the rasher shards generously over the top and finish with a scattering of fresh chives. Serve immediately, with thick brown bread on the side.
Tips
- Always use floury potatoes — Rooster is the most widely available in Ireland and the UK, and it gives an excellent result.
- Starting the rashers in a cold pan encourages the fat to render out gradually, helping them crisp all the way through rather than catching on the outside while remaining chewy in the middle.
- The soup thickens considerably as it sits; if reheating leftovers, stir in a little hot stock or milk to restore the right consistency before serving.
- A small drizzle of lightly whipped cream over the finished bowl adds a touch of richness if you are serving this for guests, though it is by no means necessary.
- Season carefully and in stages — the rashers will contribute their own saltiness to each spoonful, so it is easy to over-season the base if you are not paying attention.
- Fancy a change? Our potato and wild garlic soup uses the same floury-potato base for a lighter, spring version, while Dublin coddle pairs rashers and potatoes in a different, one-pot classic.
There is something quietly wonderful about a dish this old still being this good, still finding its way onto tables across Ireland on grey afternoons when the wind is up and the day has been long. Potato soup with crispy rashers asks very little of you in the kitchen and gives an enormous amount back in return — warmth, sustenance, and the particular satisfaction of a meal that has genuinely stood the test of time. We hope it finds a permanent place in your kitchen too.
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