Cookbook review: “The Country Cooking of Ireland” by Colman Andrews (Chronicle, $50)Colman Andrews is such a gifted writer that he can make Irish cooking not only sound delicious, but also seem exciting, even news-worthy. That hasn’t happened since the first potato landed on those green shores all those centuries ago.This book is more than a collection of recipes. Andrews captures the Irish spirit by writing about everything from ancient fables to of-the-minute consumer trends. You really sense the people behind the recipes.Andrews, co-founder of the esteemed Saveur magazine, expertly weaves broad observations about Irish culture with illuminating quotes and amusingly quirky details. (Che Guevara descended from one of the “tribes” of Galway.) Of Irish stock himself, Andrews can trace his father’s side back to counties Tyrone and Donegal.Andrews presents 225 clearly written recipes ranging from brotchan foltchep, an ancient recipe for leek and oatmeal soup, to corned beef (it’s really Irish, he insists) and colcannon, to a smoked-eel tempura and wok-smoked salmon. His recipe sources range from 18th century manuscripts to the menus of hotels and restaurants across today’s Ireland. Reading this book, you can see why salmon merits its own chapter as the “magical fish,” while potatoes get their due as the “definitive food.”As with so many cookbooks today, “The Country Cooking of Ireland” is a big, big book. It’s 384 pages, heavy, loaded with glossy color photographs and, at $50, not destined to be sitting out on a flour- and oil-splattered kitchen counter. But it is a compelling book, a master work that draws you back again and again to learn more about Irish cooking.

Andrews calls this “a modern version of the famous soup, also called brotchan (or brochan or brothchan) roy, or ‘the king’s soup,’ that is said to have been the favorite dish of Ireland’s celebrated sixth-century spiritual and literary icon, St. Columkille. It is … quite possibly the oldest traditional Irish dish for which it is possible to reconstruct a recipe.”We adapted the recipe and added more broth for a souplike consistency.

LEEK AND OATMEAL SOUP (BROTCHAN FOLTCHEP)—Yield: 4-6 servings

2 tablespoons butter4 leeks, trimmed, washed well to remove sand and sliced thinly3 cups chicken broth2 cups milk1/2 cup Irish steel-cut oats1/2 teaspoon each: ground mace, saltFreshly ground pepper

Procedure:1. Melt butter in medium saucepan over low heat; add leeks. Cook, stirring occasionally, until leeks are very soft, 12-15 minutes.2. Add broth and milk. Raise heat to high; bring to boil. Sprinkle in oatmeal. Add the mace, salt and pepper to taste. Return liquid to boiling, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low. Cover; simmer until oats are tender, 45 minutes.

Nutrition data per serving: 241 calories, 48 percent of calories from fat, 13 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 67 mg cholesterol, 10 g carbohydrates, 21 g protein, 812 mg sodium, 3 g fiber

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