I first encountered colcannon potatoes while doing research on traditional Irish cooking. Not surprisingly the Irish have all sorts of ways of cooking potatoes, with festive names like champ, bruisy, pandy, boxty, and this one, colcannon.
Irish Mashed Potatoes
In the following colcannon recipe, we mix the mashed potatoes in with chopped cooked kale, green onions, milk or cream, and lots of butter. To serve, make a depression in the middle of the mashed potatoes and put a knob of butter in it. To eat it, you dip a forkful of the potatoes in the melted butter. If ever there was a recipe to get one to eat one’s greens, this is it!
More Favorite Recipes for St. Patrick’s Day
Colcannon Soup Slow Cooker Irish Beef Stew Chocolate Guinness Brownies Corned Beef and Cabbage Irish Soda Bread
Learn More About Irish Cooking
By the way, if you are looking for books on traditional Irish cooking, I can recommend two excellent ones. The first is Irish Traditional Cooking by Darina Allen, of the Ballymaloe Cookery School in County Cork. The second is The Country Cooking of Ireland by Colman Andrews, which won the James Beard award for cookbook of the year in 2010.
Video: How to Make Colcannon
Boil until the potatoes are fork tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain in a colander. Cook the greens for 3-4 minutes, or until they are wilted and have given off some of their water. Add the green onions and cook 1 minute more. Use a fork or potato masher and mash the potatoes, mixing them up with the greens. Add salt to taste and serve hot, with a knob of butter in the center. Colcannon Soup here on Simply Recipes Colcannon Cakes here on Simply Recipes Colcannon with Broccoli Rabe - from A Veggie Venture Colcannon with Wild Greens - from Hunter Angler Gardener Cook Books: Irish Traditional Cooking: Over 300 Recipes from Ireland’s Heritage - by Darina Allen The Country Cooking of Ireland - by Colman Andrews
