St. Patrick’s Day Essential: How to Make the Most Flavorful Colcannon You’ve Ever Had

St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner, which means the entire world is about to immerse into the colors of the Irish flag for the entire week.

In case you’re thinking about joining the celebration, here’s a great idea for you to even make your own home festive: the traditional Irish colcannon, pronounced the best garnish by the Irish themselves.

Made of cabbage and potatoes, colcannon won’t take much of your time, but instead will bring an unforgettable and even exotic flavor to your dinner table.

Ingredients: 600-700 g of potatoes (peeled and raw), 500-700 g of white cabbage, 100-120 g of boiled and smoked bacon, 1 large onion, 1/2 cup of milk or low-fat cream, about 50 g of butter (or more if desired), salt, green onions, parsley to taste.

First, prepare the vegetables, since they take the longest to cook. Cut the cabbage as thinly as possible. Young cabbage, savoy cabbage, or kale can be chopped into larger pieces.

Peel the potatoes and cut them into large slices. Place the potatoes in a wide-bottomed pot, top with the cabbage, and cover with water. Add salt to taste. Put the vegetables on to cook over moderate heat. Cover the pot with a lid. Cook until the potatoes are ready, about half an hour.

While the vegetables are cooking, dice the onion. Cut the bacon into small cubes. If the skin is soft and easy to chew, be sure to leave it on. Fry the meat in a dry frying pan or with oil until the fat is melted and it is lightly browned. Add the onion to the pan and fry everything together until the onion is soft.

Remove the finished mixture from the heat. Drain the water from the cooked potatoes and cabbage through a sieve or carefully remove the vegetables from the broth with a slotted spoon. Mash the cabbage and potatoes with a potato masher.

Add hot milk (or cream) and half of the butter to the mash. If you use green onions, add them to the mash during cooking so that they give off their juice. Add chopped parsley to the finished mash. You can substitute parsley with celery leaves.

Add the fried onions and bacon to the mashed potatoes and mix well. Serve the colcannon on a flat plate, piling it high. Make a hollow in the middle and place a small piece of butter in it, which will melt quickly.

Colcannon is served as follows: scoop up some mashed potatoes with a fork, dip it in the melted butter, and eat it.