Oh, Colcannon!

I wasn't going to make ANYTHING Irish today. I wasn't trying to take an anti-Gaelic stance, but I often plan my menus a week in advance, and the last time I planned my grocery list, I just plain forgot Saint Patrick's Day would be upon us...so there was no corned beef in my kitchen.

There was corned beef in every other food blogger's kitchen, though. I've been reading all about it. And there was cabbage, too...wonderful cabbage. Sweet, delicious cabbage that apparently prompted food writer Michael Ruhlman's wife to request third helpings. This image of a cabbage so good that it made someone ask for thirds was a contagious one for me. Suddenly, I wanted cabbage, too.

I just so happened to have half a head of cabbage. In fact, I happened to have all the right ingredients on hand for a colcannon. Colcannon is a big-wheel bash-up of mashed potatoes, cabbage, and onions. It is traditional in Ireland to serve it both on Halloween (with kale in lieu of cabbage) and on the first day of spring. As an experiment, I also wound up adding some non-traditional ingredients and found them to be successful. I'll note a recipe of sorts below, but in my usual freewheeling style of cooking at home, I was winging it, so these quantities should not be considered scientific exactitudes. But DO try this recipe sometime...it was positively addictive. I served it with some oven-roasted bone-in chicken breasts and it was a nice combination. It would also be great with a grill-charred burger:

COLCANNON (Yield 2 hearty servings or 4 small servings):

8 redskin potatoes halved and boiled until fork-tender (I leave the skin on)
1/2 small head of cabbage, just blanched for moment, then drained and chopped (if the cabbage you find is humongous, just use a quarter of the head)
1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
1/2-1 cup of milk
2 T butter, divided.
2 t salt, or to taste
approx. 1/3 cup minced dill pickles
1 t dijon mustard

Mash the potatoes by hand with the milk and 1 T of butter. Just get it to semi-smooth consistency. I think this dish is kind of rustic, and some chunkiness is desirable. That's also why I leave the potatoes in their jackets.

Saute the onion and cabbage over medium heat in the remaining T of butter. Get them nice and tender, just on the verge of browning (probably about 7 minutes or so). Fold these into the mashed potatoes, mix well, and add salt. Add the pickles and mustard.


I loved, loved, loved the addition of the minced pickles. Cabbage has kind of a sweet flavor and potatoes have a sweet flavor, so the tangy-ness of the pickles and dijon created a great sense of balance. Obviously, my "secret ingredients" are not traditional, but I'm certain that I will never again make colcannon without them. I think their contribution to the sweet/tangy interplay of flavors makes the dish.