I have never made colcannon, but I knew that I needed a dish with potatoes and cabbage for Irish week, because what is more Irish than those two vegetables (or a tuber and a vegetable, whatever)? I like mashed potatoes, but I have never been blown away by them. Who knew that you could add cabbage and leeks to mashed potatoes and your world would change? I am telling you, I am never going to make mashed potatoes again. It is colcannon from here on out, because it is SO delicious.
1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes
1 savoy cabbage, trimmed, pale-green leaves finely shredded (4 cups)
1 leek, pale-green and white parts only, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 cup milk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Coarse salt
1. Preheat broiler. Peel and quarter potatoes, and place in a medium saucepan; add enough cold water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to a simmer, and cook until tender when pierced with a fork, about 15 minutes. Drain potatoes and return to saucepan. Mash with a potato masher or pass through a ricer; cover pan to keep warm.
2. Meanwhile, in another saucepan, combine cabbage, leek, milk, 2 tablespoons butter, and nutmeg; season with salt. Cover, and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until cabbage and leek is soft but not browned, about 15 minutes. Stir into potatoes.
3. Spread mixture in an 8-inch square baking dish. Make a small well in the center, and place under the broiler until lightly browned on top, about 5 minutes.
4. Remove from broiler. Place remaining 2 tablespoons butter in well. Serve immediately, spooning melted butter from well onto each serving, if desired.
By the way, you may notice in the third picture above that the leeks and cabbage are cooking in a large saute pan. That gorgeous All-Clad pan was a gift from my parents for my birthday. Despite today being its first appearance on this blog, it has been used well. I love it.
I don't make dessert very often (refer here for more info on that), but I happened to have vanilla ice cream in my freezer and left over Guinness. So Guinness floats! I will not post a recipe because if you can't figure out how to make a Guinness float, please don't ever touch anything in a kitchen. Or at least in my kitchen.
Bon appetit.
Happy St. Patrick's Day week, friends! I am approximately half Irish, and in celebration of my peoples, I am going to make Irish food all week long.
To start it off, there's nothing better on a cold rainy day, like today, than a beef stew. Throw some Guinness in said beef stew, and voila (er, seo duit): the first Irish meal of the week.
2 lb of chuck beef cubes
5 carrots – peeled and cut into chunks
1 large white onion - chopped
4 cloves garlic - minced
2 bay leaves
1 tsp salt
2 tsp black pepper (or more!)
3 cups of water*
10 baby potatoes - quartered
2 tsp sugar
1 bottle of Guinness
1 6 oz. can of tomato paste
1. Heat a dutch oven on medium-low, add about a tablespoon of oil, and brown beef cubes on all sides. Depending on how big your dutch oven is, you may have to brown the beef in batches. Transfer beef to a plate.
2. Add another tablespoon of oil to the dutch oven, and sauté the onion until lightly browned. Add the garlic and sauté another minute or two, being careful to not burn the garlic.
3. Add the beef and any juices on the plate, the carrots, bay leaf, salt, black pepper, and 3 cups of water. Cover, and simmer on low fire for 2 hours.
4. Add baby potatoes to the pot. Cover, and simmer for one hour, or until potatoes are softened.
5. In a bowl, mix together Guinness, sugar, and tomato paste. Then pour the mix into the large pot. Simmer, uncovered, for one more hour, or until desired thickness (stirring occasionally to prevent burning). Add salt and pepper to taste, if necessary.
6. Serve hot, with freshly ground pepper sprinkled on top.
I wouldn't feel right eating an Irish meal without some sort of alcoholic beverage. When I bought the Guinness at the store, it displayed with Harp. I haven't had a Black and Tan in a long time, but it used to be one of my very favorite drinks. So, I bought some Harp along with the Guinness.
1/2 bottle Guinness
1/2 bottle Harp
1. Pour the half bottle Harp into a pint glass.
2. Pour the half bottle Guinness on top of the Harp, being sure to float it on top, not mix the two. If you pour the Guinness into the glass over the back of a spoon, you will be able to better avoid mixing the two beers.
Since you used only a half a bottle of each of those beers for one Black and Tan, you are forced to drink at least two Black and Tans. What a bummer.
Bon appetit.
* I took a cooking class at Portland Culinary Workshop this morning called Stupendous Stocks, and I was sent home with more stock than I can fit in my freezer. I used the beef stock instead of water for this stew. Stock will ALWAYS be better than water in recipes like this, and since I have quite a lot of beef and pork soup bones in my freezer, I intend to make a large batch of stocks sometime soon. Stay tuned...
