St Patrick’s Day has just past, what a festive day in Biloxi, much more to my liking than other recent festivals. I of course felt the need to cook with an Irish theme, but my repertoire of Irish food is pretty limited. Corned beef and cabbage obviously come to mind, shepherd’s pie, boxty (Irish potato pancakes) and sausages and mashed potatoes were all obvious choices, but my favorite has to be colcannon. It’s a marvelous combination of creamy mashed potatoes and cabbage with lots of really good butter.
The name derives from the Irish Gaelic phrase, “cal ceannann,” meaning white headed cabbage. Although colcannon is traditionally made with cabbage or kale, I like to add a Southern twist and make it with collard greens. As I have said many times, if you want to make good collard greens you have to start with a good stock. Lord forbid that you use nothing but water, your results will be most unsatisfactory!
The best stock starts with homemade chicken stock, but you can use store bought, as long as you jazz it up a bit. Start with diced ham (the more the better), sautéed in butter until well browned, then add diced onions, bell peppers, and jalapenos and cook until tender (you might want to add a little good olive oil). Remember to season as you go, with red pepper flakes and Tony’s.
When the vegetables are tender (20 min at least), add canned chicken stock and slowly simmer for at least one hour. Add the rinsed and stimmed collards and cook until tender.
Boil Youkon Gold potatoes (peeled or not) until tender, drain and mash with a ricer or by hand, add heavy cream and slowly simmer, stirring until you have a smooth texture. Drain the greens, chop if necessary and add to the potatoes, mixing well.
Colcannon is the only food I know that has a poem written about it:
“Well did you ever make colcannon,
Made with lovely pickled cream,
With the greens and scallions mingled,
Like a picture in a dream,
Did you ever make a hole on top,
To hold the melting flake,
Or the creamy flavored butter
That your mother used to make?”
Colcannon is often served as a side, but I think it is so delicious, and so filling I would not hesitate to serve it as a main. Make sure to add lots of butter before serving!
