Kathryn and her friend, Marty, prepare some favorite Irish dishes.
I love holiday cooking and so enjoy cooking with my friend and fellow chef, Marty Schultz. Join us and we prepare a meal for St. Patrick’s Day.
Colcannon Potatoes
Colcannon Potatoes is an Irish peasant dish assembled from leftovers, It is traditionally served on St. Patrick's Day and Halloween but are also enjoyed throughout the year. The name Colcannon comes from the Gaelic word for white-headed cabbage, an essential ingredient in the tasty mash along with potatoes, cream, butter, and sautéed leeks or onions.
Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 lbs red potatoes unpeeled, quartered
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1 Stick unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup milk
- 4 bacon slices cut into 1/2-inch dice
- 4 large shallots thinly sliced
- 1 large leek Halved and sliced
- 1 bunch curly kale (about 3/4 lb) stemmed and coarsely chopped
- 1 small head cabbage about 1 lb., cored and coarsely chopped
Instructions
Leeks Preparation
- Leeks must be thoroughly washed. Best way I've found is to cut legthwise and in half moons. Put this all in a bowl of water, swish, and drain in a colender. Repeat this until no sand is visible.
- Put the potatoes in a large pot, add water to cover the potatoes by 2 inches and generously salt the water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce the heat to medium and cook until the potatoes are fork tender, about 12 minutes. Drain well in a colander.
- Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over low heat, combine the butter and milk and heat until the butter melts and the mixture is hot, 6 to 8 minutes. Use a Potato Masher and smash potatoes down. Fold in the milk mixture in two additions. Season with salt and pepper. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil and set over a large saucepan of barely simmering water to keep warm.
- In a skillet or Dutch oven add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and crisp, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Set aside. Pour off all but 3 Tbs. of the fat from the pot. Return the pot to medium heat, add the shallots and leek and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the kale and toss just until wilted but still bright green, about 3 minutes. Add the cabbage and toss until tender-crisp, 6 to 7minutes. Crumble the bacon, and season with salt and pepper. Stir the potatoes into the cabbage, kale, leeks and shallot mixture and serve warm.
Notes
We served this with Sausages from our new sponsors Marina and John Backes of Circle B Ranch Pork to order go to: CircleB Ranch Pork.com and put in the code “Kathryn2021” and get 10% off of your order of $50 more.