Colcannon (Yum!)

Soon it will be St. Patrick’s Day!  Being 1/2 Irish I of course feel the need to at least have a special meal (is corned beef special?  I suppose it is if you only eat it once a year), and possibly a drink or two… (no, we don’t do the green beer).

Now, being Irish AND Mid-western… anything this yummy made of potatoes is pretty much heaven on a plate for me (but nope adding in the Mid-western still doesn’t change the fact I don’t like beer…).

Before we start, I did a quick Google search to find out what the heck Colcannon means… and in the spirit of education (i.e. useless trivia):

• Colcannon is traditionally made with Kale… not mine, I make it with cabbage. (Kale is unknown and scary to me… but it would make it more green)
• It translates to ”White Head”…. don’t think I’ll call it that at the dinner table.
• If I were English and put beef in it, it would be called “Bubble and Squeak”… which is fun to say at the dinner table.
• Traditionally in Ireland, this dish should be served at Halloween… with coins tucked inside for luck (hello choking hazard!).
• Colcannon is also an Australian band with such hits as ”Omit the Turnips”.

So now that you are armed with knowledge, you are prepared to make this lovely comfort food.  You’ll need:

• 2 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 4 slices bacon
• 1/2 small head cabbage, chopped (or a 16oz bag of coleslaw mix if you don’t mind the carrots)
• 1 large onion, peeled, chopped
• 1/2 cup milk
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 Tbsps butter (I reduced this from 1/4 cup in the original recipe, but add more if your heart can take it)

1. Place the potatoes in a saucepan with enough water to cover, bring to a boil, and cook until tender.
2. Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a fairly large skillet, crumble and set aside.
3. In that same skillet where the bacon was just cooked (with the drippings), add the chopped cabbage and onion, and sautee untill they are soft and translucent.
4. Once the potatoes are cooked, drain and mash with the milk and butter, salt and pepper.  Then fold in the cooked cabbage, onion, and crumbled bacon.  Serve to your brood immediately.

Yes this is simply a fancy mashed potato dish with hidden veggies, and it’s darn good.   This recipe is from Allrecipes.com, if you try it and like it please stop by and leave the creator a thumbs up!

Thanks for stopping by today!