Colcannon, Ireland’s iconic potato dish
(Reprinted with permission from Darina Allen from her cookbook Irish Traditional Cooking)
As you may have noticed from this week’s blog post, I am obsessed with Irish potatoes. There is something so wonderfully wholesome, delicious, and exotic about them, maybe because they are different from what we grow in our country. Another distinguishing quality about them is how they are cooked. In Ireland, steaming is a big deal in preparing many of their potato dishes as it helps preserve the potato’s flavor.
What I’ve selected to make this week is a dish called “Colcannon.” It’s a classic recipe which dates back centuries to when the man of the house would have the task of beating a huge cauldron of potatoes which had been cooked over an open fire. Back then he used a sturdy, wooden tool known as a “beetle.” Once his wife was sure there were no lumps, she would add warm milk to the mashed potatoes and sometimes also throw in a handful of nettles, leeks, scallions, chives, or parsley. This would make a dish called “Champ.”
When the farmer’s wife added cooked cabbage—in an equal amount to the potatoes—it would be called “Colcannon,” which today is considered the country’s most iconic potato dish. There are regional variations according to Ireland’s most celebrated chef and cooking school teacher, Grande Dame Darina Allen. “Some places added green cabbage, in others kale was preferred. In parts of Dublin, Wicklow, and Wexford, parsnip was added, and onions or scallions are featured in several other of the versions.”
With that flexibility of ingredients in mind, I am using Darina’s recipe for Colcannon and have also added in some chives for taste and color. I recently discovered a new (to me, at least) hybrid variety of potato at my local green market called “pinto” to use for this dish. It has a thin, two-toned skin, tan and rosy pink, similar to a pinto bean. The vendor assured me that pintos were perfect for mashing as they are high in starch. I also picked up a small, pointed-shaped, light green caraflex cabbage noted for its sweetness and mild flavor.
A little touch of folklore: According to Darina, “It is traditional to offer a bowl of Champ or Colcannon to the fairies at Halloween. In the olden times, this would be left on field posts or under hawthorn or whitethorns trees which were traditionally associated with fairies.” I guess this guaranteed that the fairies would be too busy enjoying their Colcannon than to have idle time on their hands to steal souls or perform some other mischief!
Ingredients:
2-3 pounds potatoes (i.e., Russets or Yukon Gold)
1 small spring or savoy cabbage
1 cup plus 1 Tablespoon boiling milk
6 chives (or scallions), finely chopped (My addition to Darina’s recipe)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
¼ cup (1/2 stick) butter plus one large lump for serving
Cooking instructions:
1. Scrub potatoes. Put them into a saucepan of cold water, add a good pinch of salt and bring to a boil.
2. When the potatoes are about half cooked (about 15 minutes for old potatoes), stain off 2/3 of the water. Replace the lid on the saucepan, put on a gentle heat, and let the potatoes steam until they are fully cooked.
3. Remove dark, outer leaves from the cabbage. Wash the rest and cut into quarters, remove the core, and cut each quarter finely across the grain. Cook in a little boiling salted water until soft. Drain, season with salt, freshly ground pepper, and a little butter.
4. When the potatoes are cooked, put on the milk and bring to a boil. Add in chives.
5. Pull the skins off the potatoes, mash quickly while they are still hot, and beat in enough of the boiling milk to make a fluffy purée. Add in most of the butter. (If you have a large quantity, put the potatoes in the bowl of a food mixer and beat with the paddle.)
6. Then stir in the same volume of cooked cabbage and taste for seasoning.
7. Serve immediately in a hot dish, with a lump of butter melting in the center.
Note: Colcannon may be prepared ahead and reheated later in a moderate oven at 350°F, for about 20-25 minutes. Any leftover colcannon may be formed into potato cakes or farls (potato bread) and fried in bacon fat until crisp and brown on both sides, a cousin of bubble and squeak.
Serves: 8
Wine recommendation: As this dish is from Ireland, I would suggest an Irish beer or even a glass of buttermilk as the local farmers and their families traditionally enjoyed with this rustic and oh-so divinely delicious, nourishing dish.