Colcannon

Yesterday it snowed all day, for the first time this winter. We set out for Sunday school, and upon reaching I-5, encountered that thing, that phenomena that happens when snow falls west of the mountains in Washington: mayhem.

We made it - late - but as a group we chose to cancel evening gospel. Back home, the boys set to work outside and didn't finish until after dark. In fact they raided the garage for a spotlight so they could add final touches to their snow-beast.

After my first photo, they added food coloring, so this morning I snapped another shot.

Of course today is a snow day, so it seems the perfect time to share this colcannon recipe. I love this stuff.

If you aren't familiar with colcannon, it's a mash of potatoes and cabbage. Good Irish comfort food. This recipe contains a few extras; I clipped it from a newspaper years ago. Here are some food-blog-like prep shots.

Darren's Pacific Northwest Colcannon

I don't know who Darren is, and I tweaked the recipe a bit.

2 lb Yukon gold or fingerling potatoes, skin on, cut in large cubes. (I used russets)
salt to taste
water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 leek, cleaned & well chopped (I leave this out sometimes)
2 cups chopped green cabbage
1 bunch green/black kale, chopped (I like black)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup milk, warmed
1 tablespoon butter
black pepper to taste

Place the potatoes in a pot with salted water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook 15-20 minutes until tender. Drain, return to pan and cook over medium heat to dry potatoes.

In the meantime, heat the olive oil in a large saute pan. Add the onions, leeks, cabbage, kale & garlic an saute until almost tender. Add the cooked, dried potatoes and mash lightly with a potato masher or fork while slowly adding the milk. all the butter while mashing all the vegetables together until well-combined. Season with salt & pepper.

The finished dish looks just this messy, and it tastes great. There will be leftovers, which I enjoy with hard-boiled eggs and hot sauce. Parmesan or Pecorino Romano would be good, too, now that I think of it.

Happy New Year!