Irish Colcannon

I love St. Patrick’s Day, but that isn’t what made me want to try this dish. I recently read a book in which Irish immigrants raved about their colcannon. I’m a book nerd. I had to try it. The timing was simply a happy accident.

In investigating this simple Irish recipe I found that as with most historic staples, there are as many ways to make it as there are grandmothers with kitchens. I combined my favorite things from several different recipes. The result is every bit as delicious as the fictional Irish immigrants had led me to believe. More importantly, three teenagers and a husband gave it 5 stars.

Ingredients

3 lbs potatoes
.5 lbs cabbage (chopped or shredded)
1 small onion
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

Peel and chop potatoes. Boil until tender in salted water.
When the potatoes are nearly done, steam cabbage and onion in about 1/4 cup water until tender but not mushy.
Drain the potatoes and heat milk and butter in the potato pan until steaming but not boiling. Remove from heat.
Add the potatoes back in and mash with a fork or potato masher until smooth.
Drain any excess liquid from the cabbage and add to the potatoes, mixing well.
Serve with a pat of butter and sprinkling of chives if desired.

A bag of chopped cabbage or “coleslaw mix” can be used for the cabbage. The carrots and purple cabbage add color to the dish.

I thought we’d make this our new special St. Patrick’s Day tradition, but the truth is we all liked it so much that I’m certain we’ll be making it all year ’round.