Colcannon Food

COLCANNON

Steps:

• Steam the potatoes in their skins for 30 minutes. Peel them using a knife and fork. Chop with a knife before mashing. Mash thoroughly to remove all the lumps. Add 1 stick of butter in pieces. Gradually add hot milk, stirring all the time. Season with a few grinds of black pepper.
• Boil the cabbage in unsalted water until it turns a darker color. Add 2 tablespoons butter to tenderize it. Cover with lid for 2 minutes. Drain thoroughly before returning it to the pan. Chop into small pieces.
• Put the ham in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 45 minutes until tender. Drain. Remove any fat and chop into small pieces.
• Add cabbage, scallions, and ham to mashed potatoes, stirring them in gently.
• Serve in individual soup plates. Make an indentation on the top by swirling a wooden spoon. Put 1 tablespoon of butter into each indentation. Sprinkle with parsley.

COLCANNON

Steps:

• Preheat broiler. Peel and quarter potatoes, and place in a medium saucepan; add enough cold water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to a simmer, and cook until tender when pierced with a fork, about 15 minutes. Drain potatoes and return to saucepan. Mash with a potato masher or pass through a ricer; cover pan to keep warm.
• Meanwhile, in another saucepan, combine cabbage, leek, milk, 2 tablespoons butter, and nutmeg; season with salt. Cover, and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until cabbage and leek is soft but not browned, about 15 minutes. Stir into potatoes.
• Spread mixture in an 8-inch square baking dish. Make a small well in the center, and place under the broiler until lightly browned on top, about 5 minutes.
• Remove from broiler. Place remaining 2 tablespoons butter in well. Serve immediately, spooning melted butter from well onto each serving, if desired.

COLCANNON

Steps:

• Tip the potatoes into a large saucepan of water. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 15-20 mins, or until the flesh is tender when pierced.
• Meanwhile, heat quarter of the butter in a saucepan, then fry the bacon and half the cabbage for 5 mins (see Kevin's tip, below, for how to use remaining cabbage). Turn off the heat and set aside. Drain potatoes in a colander and peel while still hot.
• Mash potato until smooth. Heat cream with remaining butter and, when almost boiling, beat into the potato. Add bacon and cabbage to potato and mix. Season if you want.

COLCANNON

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, boil cabbage until tender; remove and chop or blend well. Set aside and keep warm. Boil potatoes until tender. Remove from heat and drain.
• Chop leeks, green parts as well as white, and simmer them in just enough milk to cover, until they are soft.
• Season and mash potatoes well. Stir in cooked leeks and milk. Blend in the kale or cabbage and heat until the whole is a pale green fluff. Make a well in the center and pour in the melted butter. Mix well.

COLCANNON POTATOES

Steps:

• Place cabbage and 2 cups water in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, until cabbage is tender, about 10 minutes. Drain, reserving cooking liquid; keep cabbage warm in separate dish., In same pan, combine potatoes and reserved cooking liquid. Add additional water to cover potatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cook, uncovered, until potatoes are tender, 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, place milk, green onions, salt and pepper in a small saucepan; bring just to a boil and remove from heat., Drain potatoes; place in a large bowl and mash. Add milk mixture; beat just until blended. Stir in cabbage. To serve, drizzle with butter; top with parsley and bacon.

COLCANNON

Steps:

• Tip the potatoes into a large saucepan of water, bring to the boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until they are tender when pierced.
• Meanwhile, heat quarter of the butter in a pan, then fry the bacon and half the cabbage for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and set aside.
• Drain the potatoes in a colander and peel while still hot.
• Mash the potato until smooth, heat the cream with the remaining butter and, when almost boiling, beat into the potato.
• Add the bacon and cabbage to the potato and mix.
• Season, to taste and serve.
• MY NOTES: If you can't find sliced back bacon, I'd suggest using middle rasher bacon, with the rinds and fat removed. The rest of Kevin Dundon's St Patrick's Day menu includes 'Smoked wild Irish salmon with chive pancake and 'Guiness & honey glazed pork loin'. I'll post the other two recipes soon. Both sound scrumptious, and also far too good to hold off making until March 2006. And I'm confident that local salmon will serve the recipe admirably! When in Rome -- When in Ireland -- When -- wherever -- .

COLCANNON

Steps:

• Begin by boiling the potatoes in salted water (1/4 tablespoon) until fork tender. Drain in a colander.
• Saute the sliced cabbage in the olive oil on medium heat with the thyme. Cover and cook until soft, stirring occasionally.
• In a small saucepan, warm the broth. Return the cooked potatoes to the pot they were boiled in and mash. When the cabbage is cooked, fold into the potatoes. Add the Organic Chicken Broth, 1/2 cup at a time, using only what's needed to make them creamy. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Put all the ingredients into a large soup pot and fill the entire pot with cold water, covering the chicken and vegetables as much as possible. Stir. Bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer. Cook uncovered for a couple of hours to extract the vegetable flavors. Strain over another soup pot or large bowl, separating the scraps from the broth. Divide among containers and freeze.

COLCANNON

Steps:

• Place potatoes in a large pot, add enough cold water to cover, and bring to a boil. Add 1½ teaspoons salt, reduce heat and simmer until just tender, 15 to 18 minutes. Drain potatoes and return to the pot.
• Meanwhile, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet on medium-low. Add leek and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook 1 minute. Add cabbage and cook, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until just tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and toss with kale (it will begin to wilt).
• Add half-and-half, remaining 2 tablespoons butter and ½ teaspoon salt to potatoes and gently mash. Fold in cabbage-kale mixture. Serve sprinkled with scallions, cracked pepper and additional butter, if desired.

TRADITIONAL IRISH COLCANNON

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Lightly salt a pot of hot water and simmer the potatoes until soft in the middle when pierced with a sharp knife.
• In a different pot, blanch the curly kale in boiling water for 1 minute.
• Drain the kale and reserve.
• Place the 1/2 cup of roughly chopped spring onions and the blanched kale into a blender and pulse for 10 seconds until roughly mixed. (You want the vegetables to have some texture.)
• Drain the potatoes and add 4 ounces of butter.
• Mash the potatoes and butter until smooth and creamy.
• Add the kale and spring onion mixture and stir well.
• Add the 1/4 cup of finely chopped spring onions and season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Top the mash with the optional 2 ounces of butter, if desired. Serve and enjoy.

CLASSIC COLCANNON

Steps:

• Cook potatoes in boiling water till tender; drain, reserving water.
• Place in a large bowl.
• Mash with hand masher till well-mashed.
• (I find the electric mixer makes it too gooey).
• Add milk, salt and pepper and beat till fluffy.
• In the same saucepan as potatoes were cooked in, cook cabbage in reserved potato water for 6 to 8 minutes, until tender.
• Drain.
• Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons butter in frying pan and saute onion until tender.
• Add mashed potato and cooked cabbage to the onion.
• Heat throughly, stirring constantly.
• Place in a heated serving dish.
• Serve hot, topped with butter.

COLCANNON

Steps:

• Sieve or mash the potatoes and mix with the cabbage and cream. Season well with salt and pepper.
• Fry the onion in the fat over a moderate heat until it is soft and beginning to brown.
• Using a spatula, press half the potato and cabbage mixture in an even layer on to the onion and fry for 4-5 minutes until it is well browned and crispy underneath.
• Cut the mixture into 4 quarters with the spatula or palette knife and turn them over carefully so that the crispy bit is uppermost. Press the remaining potato and cabbage mixture on to the first layer and after a few more minutes, cut and turn again.
• When the bottom is again browned, you will have a crispy top too, a crispy bottom, and a crispy layer in the middle.