Cookbook:Colcannon

| Cuisine of Ireland | Cuisine of Scotland

Colcannon is a rich mashed potato dish with cabbage, butter, and other ingredients. It's very easy to make and is a nice change from ordinary mashed potatoes. Its sloppiness is balanced by the crunch of the cabbage, and it should taste a little peppery.

Ingredients

 * 450 g potatoes (floury Maris Piper or Golden Wonders are best; leave skin on if you want)
 * 150 ml single cream
 * Mace
 * Ground paprika
 * 450 g white or savoy shredded cabbage
 * 2 small leeks or 1 bunch of spring onion tops, chopped
 * 125 g unsalted butter
 * 200 g mature Gouda cheese, grated
 * Salt
 * Pepper

Procedure

 * 1) Boil or steam the potatoes until soft, then shake the drained spuds in a deep pot with the lid on, until they crumble.
 * 2) Mash the crumbled potatoes up with a fork and season with the salt, pepper, and mace/paprika, before stirring in the cream.
 * 3) Add 100 g of the butter in pieces and put the lid back on, leaving the butter to melt, then stir. Transfer the mix to a clean bowl.
 * 4) Blanch the cabbage in boiling water for 2 minutes and drain.
 * 5) Fry the leeks in the remaining butter for a few minutes, then add the cabbage and toss around for a few more minutes.
 * 6) Spoon the cabbage into the bowl and mix with the mashed potatoes.
 * 7) Stir the gouda into the mix, leaving a little to coat the top. Put the bowl in an oven on 2/3 heat for 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Notes, tips, and variations

 * The mixture may be turned into a greased pie dish, sprinkled with grated cheese, dotted with butter or margarine, and browned in a hot oven.
 * Is especially good with dark greens such as savoy cabbage or kale.
 * The Gouda is an innovation—leave it out, if you don't want the dish too rich.
 * The oven heating is ideally done along with the final stage of your roast meat.
 * Seasoning is very important: bear in mind that the cheese has plenty of salt.
 * The perfect colcannon has a butter sogginess at the bottom of the bowl when removed from the oven.