Colcannon Irish Recipe
This heavenly mixture of hearty greens and creamy mashed potatoes is an Irish tradition, especially at Halloween. Flavorful black kale is well worth the effort if you can find it, but more common varieties of kale or Savoy cabbage also yield delicious results.
Ingredients
| 1 | pound | Tuscan or black kale* |
| 1 | pound | russet potatoes, peeled and quartered |
| 1 | cup | butter, room temperature, divided** |
| 1 | large | yellow onion, chopped |
| 1 | cup | milk*** |
| 3/4 | teaspoon | Kosher salt |
| 1/2 | teaspoon | freshly ground black pepper |
| 8–10 | strokes | freshly grated nutmeg**** |
| *Substitute Dino or Lacinato kale or Savoy cabbage when Tuscan or black kale is unavailable. **Create a heartier variation by substituting bacon drippings for the butter. ***Substitute buttermilk or cream if desired. ****Substitute 1/8-teaspoon ground nutmeg if fresh is unavailable. |
Directions
Fill a large bowl with ice water and set aside
- Cut or rip the thick stems from the kale, reserving the leaves only.
- Bring about three quarts of salted water to a boil, add the kale and cook for two minutes.
- Remove the kale and plunge it into the ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and squeeze out the excess water.
- Chop coarsely and set aside.
- Place the potatoes in a heavy-bottomed pan, cover them with cold water and add a generous spoonful of salt. Bring to a boil and cook the potatoes until tender. Drain the potatoes and set aside.
- Set a heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat and melt four tablespoons of the butter.
- Add the onions and cook slowly until golden brown.
- Add the kale, salt, and pepper and continue cooking until the kale is tender—approximately 10 minutes.
- Mash the potatoes in a food mill or potato ricer, or with a hand-held potato masher. Add ½ cup of butter and mix well. Set aside.
- Place the milk in a pan set over medium-high heat and heat until barely simmering. Watch closely, since milk can boil over very quickly if left unsupervised.
- Season the milk with nutmeg and add it to the mashed potatoes.
- Combine the mashed potatoes with the kale and onion mixture. Mix well.
- Adjust the seasonings.
- Place the mixture in a preheated bowl and top it with the remaining four tablespoons of butter.
- Serve immediately.
Preparation Time:
Approximately one hour.
