Colcannon
It is said that in Ireland, there are as many recipes for Colcannon as there are cooks. My mother, of blessed memory, had roots in Clan Kennedy and was a beautiful representative of the Scots Irish of Western North Carolina. She often made a dish which she called hot potato salad. Because it contained bacon and onion, I always thought it was a variation of German potato salad. But thinking about it today, I suspect it was an echo of Colcannon.
I don’t have her recipe; but here, in honor of St. Patrick’s Day is my interpretation of the dish. It serves 8 as a side dish or four as a main.
If you don’t eat bacon, just omit it. Maybe adding additional chopped onions for crunch.
1/2 head cabbage, cored and chopped
1 tbsp chicken bouillon granules
4 cups water
4 oz bacon, diced, fried and drained (fat reserved)
4 medium russet potatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 green onions, sliced OR 2 tsp. dried, reconstituted chives
salt, pepper and additional butter to taste
1. Combine the chicken bouillon granules with the water. Bring to a boil. Add the chopped cabbage and cook until tender. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking broth. Keep warm
2. Meanwhile, cook and drain the bacon, reserving about 2 tbsp of the rendered fat.
3. Peel, coarsely chop and boil the potatoes in salted water. While they cook, saute the onion in the bacon fat. Drain, and stir into the cabbage.
4. Drain and mash the potatoes. Stir in the butter, and green onions or reconstituted chives,
5. Combine the potatoes with the cabbage mixture, adding reserved bouillon broth as needed.
6. Correct seasoning as needed and serve topped with a dollop of butter.
Servings: 8
Cooking Times
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 1/8 of a recipe (8 ounces).
Percent daily values based on the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) for a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition information calculated from recipe ingredients. One of the recipe’s ingredients was not linked. This ingredient is not included in the recipe nutrition data.
Amount Per Serving
Recipe Type: Gluten-Free, Holiday, Vegetables
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