Potatoes and Cabbage
Irish Colcannon mixes two delicious classic Irish dishes–mashed potatoes and cabbage. The first known reference of colcannon comes from the diary of William Bulkeley, circa 1753 when he mentions enjoying the dish during his travels to Dublin. The word colcannon is derived from the Gaelic term cal ceannann, which means white-headed cabbage.
Mashed Potatoes and Other Veggies
Colcannon is very similar to champ, which is a side dish made with mashed potatoes and spring onion. Colcannon however typically contains cabbage, leeks and sometimes streaky bacon or ham. The English also have their own take on the dish, turning it into Bubble and Squeak. In that version, the mashed potatoes are mixed with any chopped vegetable (mainly cabbage/peas/carrots), then pressed into a round cake and fried in butter until they have a crisp edge.
On the Lighter Side
In my years of cooking I’ve played around different versions of these classic dishes. One way to make this dish lighter, especially when it comes to calories, is to substitute a good quality brown chicken or vegetable stock and velouté for the cream and butter. It’s really delicious and surprising how little you will miss the cream and butter.
Spinach in place of, or in addition to the cabbage is also very tasty. Give it a try and play around with it till you’ve made a version that favor.
When freshly made, there isn’t much to match colcannon as a starchy side dish. Make a little well in the top with the back of a spoon and ladle in some melted butter for a side dish that’s meal-worthy.
Peel the potatoes and keep them covered in cool fresh water. In the USA use Yukon Gold or Russets. In Ireland use Maris Piper, Golden Wonder, Queens, Kerr’s Pink or Arran Victory potatoes. Hey, it’s Ireland. They have better potatoes than we do!
Quarter the potatoes to a uniform size so they cook evenly. Keep them from discoloring by leaving them in the water bath.
To clean the leeks, cut them in half and slice only the white and light green portions for use. The rest can be used in stock, as a soup garnish, or thinly sliced and fried. Fried leeks are delicious.
Typically I use cabbage to prepare Colcannon but I noticed this vibrant Bok Choy at the store (which is an alternative Asian cabbage). Whether you use Savoy, Napa, green or even Brussels Sprouts, all of them make a great addition to colcannon potatoes.
Cut the cabbage into thin shreds. Here I’m using only the leafy parts.
Gather the leeks and cabbage together and prepare for the sauté pan.
Sauté the leeks and cabbage in butter with a pinch of salt.
To maintain the bright green color of the cabbage after it is cooked, add juice from half of a small lemon. (This is my preference and optional.)
Cook the cabbage and leeks in a hot pan with butter. About halfway through cooking add the lemon. This isn’t to add flavor, but to preserve the bright green color of the cabbage and leeks.
When making any mashed potato, keep the butter and milk/cream warm before adding it to the mashed potatoes/colcannon or champ. (If you wish to experiment, potatoes can absorb an amazing amount of butter if beaten in slowly, but that is for another day!)
After the potatoes have boiled for approximately 15 minutes, take a single potato out and test it with tip of a knife. If the knife inserts and pulls out easily the potato is done. Be careful not to over cook or you may lose too much starch, which helps make the colcannon light and fluffy.
When training new cooks, I’ve discovered this lesson needs to be taught more often than not: Don’t put all of the boiled potatoes into the mixing bowl at one time. Invariably, young cooks do this and are surprised when the potatoes fly out. Start by adding a few potatoes to a stand mixer fitted with a paddle.
Slowly lower the paddle into the potatoes and letting them smash up before dropping the paddle all the way. Alternatively you can use a potato ricer. If I were doing a more refined version, I would use a ricer as well, but this mimics the rustic nature of colcannon. This is a dish for working people. Speed and efficiency are needed here.
Once you’ve established a base of mashed potatoes, add several more and repeat the process until all of the potatoes have entered the mix.
Add the hot butter and cream to the potatoes and then increase the speed. It doesn’t take long until you have light and fluffy mashed potatoes.
Add the reserved cabbage and leeks to the mix thoroughly. Check the seasonings (salt and pepper if desired) and keep the colcannon warm.
Once the ingredients are incorporated, keep the potatoes warm until needed. (NOTE: Mashed potatoes have acid, just like tomatoes. Never cover mashed potatoes or tomato sauce directly with aluminum foil especially when they are in a metal container. This creates a very primitive battery. The potatoe acid creates a charge and will eat through the thin foil, dissolving a portion of aluminum into the potatoes. Always place a barrier, like plastic wrap or parchment paper, between the aluminum foil and acidic foods. If your Aunt Trudy’s lasagna tastes like metal it’s because it’s in there-dissolved into the food.
To serve colcannon, warm the plate, if possible. Some dishwashers have this feature or use an oven on low heat. A cold plate will quickly pull the heat from the potatoes. Serve colcannon as a side dish as I have here or on its own. Try adding chopped cooked bacon or rasher’s for a quick and easy meal.
I went all in on St. Patrick’s day, serving Guinness Drought Braised Beef Short Ribs, Irish Colcannon, Irish/Tex Jalapeno Soda Bread and Irish Apple Cake with traditional Custard Sauce. Bia sobhlasta!
Irish Colcannon
Equipment
- Large pot for boiling potatoes
- vegetable peeler
- knife
- cutting board
- work bowl for a stand mixer or potato ricer
- large wooden kitchen spoon or stand mixer
- large mixing bowl
- sauce pot for melting butter with cream
- saute or fry pan for cooking cabbage/leeks
Ingredients
- 3 lbs potatoes, peeled and cubed Yukon Gold preferred or Russets
- 8 tbsp butter
- ½ whole leeks, sliced in half and rinsed thoroughly
- 2 cups cabbage, sliced or shredded thin, preferably Green or Napa variety (Kale, bok choy
- ¾ cup milk
- ¾ cup heavy cream (If you don't want the calories from the cream add chicken or vegetable stock to deglaze the cabbage and leeks instead)
- 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
- ½ tsp pepper, black pepper or white
Instructions
Prepping the Potatoes
- Peel the potatoes and place in a large bowl full of cold water. Once all of the potatoes have been peeled, quarter them into uniform size pieces. Keep submerged in cold water. Reserve.
Preparing the Leeks and Cabbage
- Make sure to clean the leeks thoroughly. Most leeks are grown in a sandy soil which can can get into the all the different layers. Clean these thoroughly. Use the light green and the white part of the leaks only. The dark green parts of the leeks can be tough.
- Slice the cabbage and leeks thinly and reserve.
- Sauté the leeks and cabbage until tender. Always heat the butter and milk/cream before adding them to the mashed potatoes. (Optionally, you can add a bit of fresh squeezed lemon juice to the vegetables to have them retain their green color.) Reserve.
Warm the Milk and Cream
- Using a small sauce pot, heat the milk and cream. Reserve.
Cooking the Potatoes
- Using a large pot of salted water over medium-high heat, bring the water to a boil.
- Drain the potatoes from the cold water, and add them to the boiling water. Cook for approximately 15 minutes. Check the potatoes for doneness by inserting the tip of a knife into a potato piece. The knife tip should slide easily in and out of the potato.
- Drain and add ¼ of the potatoes to the work bowl of a mixer. DON'T add all of the potatoes at once. Start with a small amount.
- Turn the mixer on low and slowly lower or raise the paddle attachment as the potatoes are mixing. As you mix the potatoes, gradually add more until they are all incorporated.
Making the Colcannon
- With the mashed potatoes still in the work bowl of the stand mixer, add the butter/leek/cabbage mix and turn on low to incorporate.
- Add ⅓ cup of the reserved warm milk/cream mixture. Turn the mixer to medium-low speed and continue to add the cream/milk mixture gradually until all of it has been added.
- Taste and adjust seasoning. Remove the work bowl from the mixer and spoon out the Colcannon into a warmed serving dish and serve.
- If you need to hold the Colcannon warm in the oven for a while, remember to place a barrier between the potatoes and aluminum foil. Plastic or parchment paper works great.