Colcannon

Irish mashed potatoes with kale

Corned beef and cabbage and Irish stew were all I knew about Irish food before I started planning for my trip to Ireland. As it turns out, I haven’t seen any corned beef since I arrived here—perhaps it’s an Irish-American thing. I had assumed that potatoes featured a prominent role in Irish cuisine, and that turned out to be true. Since the potato was introduced to Ireland from South America almost 500 years ago, it has been a staple of Irish cuisine.

I set out looking for a potato dish that was unique to Ireland—one with some historical roots that is still eaten in Irish homes today—something like a national potato dish. My search led me to colcannon, a simple dish of potatoes and kale. Ireland was for centuries home to some of the poorest people in Europe. Many Irishmen could afford only potatoes and cabbage on a daily basis. A typical meal for an Irish farmer of centuries past was colcannon with a glass of buttermilk to drink.

Colcannon today is most often served as a side dish with bacon (though Irish bacon more closely resembles a ham steak than the bacon served in the United States). I prepared colcannon at home before we left for Ireland and served it as a side with baked ham. The recipe I used was an amalgam of a few recipes that I found in my research (one of which was an old recipe that was printed on a bag of potatoes). Here in Ireland, I’ve had colcannon several times, and I haven’t tasted anything that would cause me to change this recipe one bit.

Ingredients:

3 lbs russet potatoes

12 oz kale

¼ c. chopped green onions

1¼ c. milk

1 c. (2 sticks) butter

Salt and pepper to taste

Chopped parsley leave

Directions:

1. Peel and quarter the potatoes. Put them in a large pot and cover with water. Boil until they just begin to fall apart.

2. Steam the kale until it is very soft, about 15 minutes. Press the excess moisture out of the kale and chop it fine.

3. Warm the milk almost to boiling and add the chopped onions.

4. When the potatoes have finished cooking, remove from heat and drain. Return to the warm pot.

5. Cut half of the butter (1/2 c. or one stick) into slices and mash it into the potatoes.

6. Add the hot milk and green onions and beat until fluffy. Stir in the kale and add salt and pepper to taste.

7. Serve by scooping a 1 c. portion onto a plate and creating a well in the center of the colcannon. Add a slice or two of butter to the well and sprinkle chopped parsley over the top.

8. Serve as a side to your favorite meat dish. Or with a tall glass of buttermilk.