Recipe · By Marc Dessein ·

Colcannon, Irish mash with cabbage and spring onion

White bowl of mash mixed with dark green kale, pale background

Serves 4. Per serving, about 450 kcal and 11 g of protein.

Colcannon is a traditional Irish dish of potatoes mashed with cooked cabbage, milk boiled with spring onion, and butter. It can be made with Savoy cabbage, spring cabbage or kale. It can be made ahead and reheated in the oven. In Ireland it is also served with a fried or poached egg.

Soft, buttery mash with tender bites of cabbage and the mild bite of spring onion. The melting butter in the centre runs into every spoonful.

Method

  1. Scrub the potatoes, put them in a pan of cold water with a good pinch of salt and bring to the boil.
  2. When half cooked, about 15 minutes, pour off two-thirds of the water, put the lid back on and let the potatoes finish cooking in the steam over a gentle heat.
  3. Remove the dark outer leaves of the cabbage. Wash the rest, cut into quarters, remove the core and shred finely. If using kale, remove the central rib.
  4. Cook the cabbage in a little boiling salted water until soft (8 to 10 minutes for kale). Drain and season with salt, pepper and a little butter.
  5. When the potatoes are cooked, bring the milk and chopped spring onion to the boil.
  6. Peel the potatoes while still warm and mash them quickly, beating in enough boiling milk to make a fluffy purée.
  7. Stir in the cabbage, taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve at once in a hot dish with the butter melting in the centre. Colcannon can also be made ahead and reheated, covered, for 20 to 25 minutes in the oven at 180 °C.