Peggy Hinsman's Blog

Peggy’s Version of Colcannon

Colcannon is a traditional Irish dish with potatoes, kale/cabbage, onions and milk/cream. It is traditionally eaten in Ireland at Halloween, but it is also great for anytime in the winter — great comfort food. The name is from the Irish term “cal ceann fhionn” meaning white-headed cabbage.

Colcannon at Halloween used to contain a plain gold ring, a sixpence, a thimble or button: finding the ring meant marriage within the year for the person who found it, the sixpence meant wealth, the thimble spinsterhood and the button bachelorhood.

I have changed to recipe to match our family’s tastes (recipe below). For an authentic Irish recipe for Colcannon, check out these web sites: Bord Bia (Irish Food Board), Ireland Now.

Peggy’s Colcannon Recipe

2-3 lbs of Potatoes cleaned and cut for boiling
1 bundle of kale, cut off the stalks into small strips
1 1/2 – 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
milk or cream
~1 Tablespoon rubbed sage
~1 Tablespoon dried rosemary
salt

Boil the potatoes for about 20 min or until they are soft enough to mash. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. When removing the potatoes from the hot water, don’t discard the water. Place the potatoes in an oven proof glass bowl. Use the hot potato water to boil the kale for 5 minutes and then drain the water from the kale. If preferred, remove the skin from the potatoes (I leave the skin on) and then mash the potatoes. Add milk or cream to make the mashed potatoes smooth. Add salt to taste. Add the kale and 2/3 of the cheese to the potatoes and mix them all together. Use a mortar and pestle to grind the sage so its flavor gets released and sprinkle it over the potato mixture. Do the same with the rosemary and then mix the herbs in. Cover the top of the Colcannon with the rest of the cheese and then cover the bowl with aluminum foil. Bake for 20 minutes until the Colcannon is between warm and hot and all the cheese is melted.

Colcannon is good as leftovers and heats up well in a microwave oven.

Enjoy!

Peggy

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