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Colcannon for St. Paddy's Day?


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This year, instead of the traditional corned beef with cabbage and potatoes, I'm going to make corned beef, with cabbage and potatoes.

Tee hee, confused yet?

Colcannon is an Irish dish that consists of cabbage (or kale) and potatoes, with lots of butter. So this year I'm going to make the potatoes and cabbage separatly from the corned beef.

Traditionally, colcannon is served on All Hallow's Eve, but I don't see why it can be had on St. Patrick's day as well.

I've yet to decide on the final recipe. Some call for the addition of leeks, some for bacon, some for neither, some for both.

I think I'll fry up the bacon, then use the fat to cook the cabbage, then incorporate that into the mashed potatoes. Has anyone ever made colcannon?

Do you have a favorite recipe?

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Traditionally, colcannon is served on All Hallow's Eve, but I don't see why it can be had on St. Patrick's day as well.

I've yet to decide on the final recipe.  Some call for the addition of  leeks, some for bacon, some for neither, some for both. 

I think I'll fry up the bacon, then use the fat to cook the cabbage, then incorporate that into the mashed potatoes.    Has anyone ever made colcannon?

Do you have a favorite recipe? 

I used to make it now and then, and have certainly had it on St. Patrick's day - but... a recipe? Er, not exactly. Not as such. It's quite possible that I've never made it the same way twice. It's wonderful with bacon, especially if you have proper Irish bacon - but if you have that you'll be boiling it as a meat dish, in which case it might seem redundant to fry some for the colcannon as well. I tend to think More Is Better for something like this, but I also tend to throw it together out of leftovers at odd hours; the ingredients vary accordingly. The idea of making it with bacon AND butter AND leeks, and plenty of each, is making my mouth water so hard right now that I may just have to run out and do it right away. (Then again, I could have the same reaction to the mashed potatoes by themselves.)

Or... you could always make bubble-and-squeak instead. Simpler; quicker; but with a special charm of its own.

Edited by balmagowry (log)
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Alas all I have is American bacon. I'm not going to boil the bacon.

I must admit I'm looking forward to making it, I'm trying to wait for Wednesday, but I'll probably hold out at least until Tuesday.

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I've been making Colcannon for about 25 years and use to cook the kale from fresh, use to cook the onions on the side and then add to the mashed taters use to ------- you get the idea.

Over the years I've made it easier, and now I buy the frozen chopped kale and nuke it till done. I've added garlic and onions to the potatoes as they cooked, and I've added scallions to the potatoes as I mash them.

But today I used a recipe for 'make ahead mashed poratoes, using sour cream and cream cheese to mash them (along with some onion powder/salt, butter, and pepper) and then added the cooked frozen kale. Not 'kosher', but I was taking them to a party where they were reheated. The "make ahead potatoes" recipe kept the potatoes creamy. (You can 'google' them) They were good.

Colcannon is sometimes made with cooked white cabbage, but I believe kale is the original choice.

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Oh. My. God. Hell with the corned beef. Gimmee the colcannon.

I ate it cold for breakfast. I'm so addicted. I gotta try it with kale, but the nuance of the cabbage all mixed in with the creamy potatoes, onions and bacon, bacon fat and butter....

I'm really beyond words. Thank goodness I made a lot. :wub:

Or maybe not so thank goodness. Extra 10 hours walking penance seems fitting.

Edited to add: After looking up bubble and squeak, I might just have made that instead. Hard to tell since the two are so similar and there are about as many recipes as there are stars in the sky....

Edited by nessa (log)
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