Colcannon

Title:
Colcannon

Yield:
4 Servings

Categories:
Irish,
Vegetables




Ingredients:





 2 1/2 lb Potatoes (cooked, mashed)


     1 c  Cooked kale (finely chopped)


     1 c  Hot milk


     4    Chopped scallions (optional)


          Butter






 Strip the heads of kale away from the stems and shred them finely. Kale is


 a tough vegetable which needs to cook for 10-20 minutes depending on its


 age.  Cook as you would for any green vegetable in furiously boiling salted


 water until it is just tender.  (Some people add 1/2 tsp baking soda to the


 water to help keep the kale at its brightest green.) Strain it and refresh


 it with cold water. Drain it thoroughly and squeeze out any excess water.


 Nowadays I put the kale into a food processor with the hot milk and blend


 them into a green soup which I then mix through the mashed potatoes. I then


 reheat it in the oven until it is very hot. This produces a dish fit for


 St. Patrick's Day in greenness. It is perfectly acceptable just to mix the


 kale and milk into the potatoes without recourse to the food processor, but


 the resulting dish is just speckled green. Do not use the processor if you


 are making colcannon with cabbage instead of kale. Don't forget the coin


 and the ring to amuse the children.


 


 (from THE POOLBEG BOOK OF TRADITIONAL IRISH COOKING, Biddy White Lennon)


 


 From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini