ISO Colcannon

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norgeskog

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This is a potatoe/cabbage and other things in Scotland or Ireland and is a usual sidedish to Corned Beef. Anyone have a recipe for it????
 
Here are two:

This one is from Tyler Florence ... (I saw the episode where he went to Ireland to get this one)

3 pounds potatoes, scrubbed
2 sticks butter
1 1/4 cups hot milk
Freshly ground black pepper
1 head cabbage, cored and finely shredded
1 (1-pound) piece ham or bacon, cooked the day before
4 scallions, finely chopped
Chopped parsley leaves, for garnish


Steam the potatoes in their skins for 30 minutes. Peel them using a knife and fork. Chop with a knife before mashing. Mash thoroughly to remove all the lumps. Add 1 stick of butter in pieces. Gradually add hot milk, stirring all the time. Season with a few grinds of black pepper.


Boil the cabbage in unsalted water until it turns a darker color. Add 2 tablespoons butter to tenderize it. Cover with lid for 2 minutes. Drain thoroughly before returning it to the pan. Chop into small pieces.

Put the ham in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 45 minutes until tender. Drain. Remove any fat and chop into small pieces. Add cabbage, scallions, and ham to mashed potatoes, stirring them in gently.

Serve in individual soup plates. Make an indentation on the top by swirling a wooden spoon. Put 1 tablespoon of butter into each indentation. Sprinkle with parsley.
_________

This one is from the "Celtic Cookbook" by Helen Smith-Twiddy

4 Tbsp dripping
1 lb. cooked, mashed potatoes
1/2 lb. cabbage, shredded
1/2 lb onions, chopped
1/2 lb. bacon, cut into small cubes
sale & pepper
pinch of parsley

Melt the dripping and add the potatoes, cabbage, and onions. Cook until browned. Add the bacon and cook. Season with salt and pepper. Aerve on a large platter with parsley sprinkled over the top.
 
i'd have to say michael's pretty much nailed it. there's a few variations on colcannon; with chunks or bits of bacon or ham and without, more or less butter, various herbs. but those recipes are for the most part it, as far as irish colcannon goes. it would be interesting to hear from our scot and english friends...
 
I make one with kale, from tips an Irish friend gave me.


Sautee a chopped onion in some butter. Add the kale and water to cover, and cook the kale, drain well and chop.
Make mashed potatoes a 'wee bit' moister than usual; season well.
Mix together, and put in a buttered casserole dish; put pats of butter over the top of the casserole, and bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes.

Sorry I can't give amounts; this was a 'verbal' recipe, and that's all she gave me!
 
The Scots version of Irish Colcannon is called Rumbledethumps (I kid you not!)


Here's my family recipe

lb boiled and then mashed potatoes - floury, white fleshed ones such as Pentlands or King Edwards are best
1 lb green cabbage, chopped and then cooked (but still with a little 'bite' in it!)
1 onion (large) finely chopped
2 oz butter
2/3 oz mature cheddar - coarsely grated
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

The potatoes and cabbage should not be cooked too long in advance - they need to be hot as the dish is not really 'cooked' when assembled, merely heated through!

Gently melt the butter in a saucepan, add the onion. Cook gently for about 5 minutes, do not allow onions to brown. Add the potatoes and cabbage and mix together. Season well with salt and pepper and put into a oven proof dish dish. Cover with the grated cheese and brown it under a grill until bubbling and golden brown

Served as a side dish to casseroles, stews or similar dishes - or with the Irish dish of corned beef!
 
Michael in FtW said:
Here are two:

This one is from Tyler Florence ... (I saw the episode where he went to Ireland to get this one)

Thanks MFtW. I remember seeing that episode, but had forgotten it. Thanks for the recipes. Think I will do this for St. Patricks day instead of the usual corned beef. It is not practical to cook corned beef for one person. Guess I could invite my daughter and her fiance, but he eats meat and she does not: picture this, tofurkey and cabbage; tempeh and cabbage, somehow something is lost here. I love cabbage and potatoes and what's not to like about bacon? Thanks again.
 
Ishbel said:
The Scots version of Irish Colcannon is called Rumbledethumps (I kid you not!)
Here's my family recipe

Thanks Ishbel. Another recipe someone gave me (over the phone) used Kale instead of cabbage. Have you heard of this? ALso love your adding sharp cheddar. I love cheese. I am making this for St. Patricks day dinner, but may not do the corned beef, need a small one and they are all 4+ pounds. I may have to go to the butcher and see if he will cut me a small one.
 
that sounds soooo good. i saw the tyler florence episode the other night, too. it seems like the best comfort food.
 
I've used kale if that's what I've got in the kitchen at the time. :cool:

As for the cheddar - I'm not sure whether this is 'traditional', in the sense of being an ingredient in every version of rumbledethumps, but it's in my family 'receipt' book ... so we've been eating it like that for a very long time!

Interestingly, corned beef and cabbage was not an Irish dish until the American tourists went to visit Ireland and asked for the dish! I've read that it is an American dish that Irish immigrants in one of the main cities invented to remind them of home. In Ireland it was always more usual to eat boiled bacon (or gammon) with colcannon. However, when you go to pubs in some ares of Ireland that have a lot of tourists from the USA, you can now get 'corned beef and cabbage'... :LOL:
 
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Ishbel said:
I've used kale if that's what I've got in the kitchen at the time. :cool:

As for the cheddar - I'm not sure whether this is 'traditional', in the sense of being an ingredient in every version of rumbledethumps, but it's in my family 'receipt' book ... so we've been eating it like that for a very long time!

Interestingly, corned beef and cabbage was not an Irish dish until the American tourists went to visit Ireland and asked for the dish! I've read that it is an American dish that Irish immigrants in one of the main cities invented to remind them of home. In Ireland it was always more usual to eat boiled bacon (or gammon) with colcannon. However, when you go to pubs in some ares of Ireland that have a lot of tourists from the USA, you can now get 'corned beef and cabbage'... :LOL:

Ishbel that is true in this country of a lot of foods that have ethnic origins. Pizza in Italy only had evoo and garlic and perhaps oregano or basil. I did end up with a small very lean corned beef, but am fixing it with colcannon (using Kale) and basically your recipe. I always roast my corned beef in the oven, prefer the taste to boiling it which IMHO ends up putting the falvor into the water which is usually dumped. What might your menu be, Ishbel?
 
As I'm not Irish, I don't buy into the St Patrick's Day celebrations!

BUT, I've got lots of Irish friends and most of them don't go 'mad' on the Irish-ness, either. For most of them, it is a religious holiday, not a green beer day! Although, my husband was in Dublin a couple of years ago, and said that they are getting much more into the swing of things, in the American way, but he thought it was probably because tourists expect it!

BUT, I've never known the Irish (or the Scots, for that matter) to resist an excuse for a 'hooley' as they call it :LOL:
 
Ishbel said:
As I'm not Irish, I don't buy into the St Patrick's Day celebrations!

BUT, I've got lots of Irish friends and most of them don't go 'mad' on the Irish-ness, either. For most of them, it is a religious holiday, not a green beer day! Although, my husband was in Dublin a couple of years ago, and said that they are getting much more into the swing of things, in the American way, but he thought it was probably because tourists expect it!

BUT, I've never known the Irish (or the Scots, for that matter) to resist an excuse for a 'hooley' as they call it :LOL:

Sorry Ishbel about the mixup, when I asked about colcannon, someone referred you to me. I am Norwegian and celebrate associated holidays, but always enjoyed the music and the festivities for this holiday. Thanks for your input.
 
Norge
I think a lot of people think that Irish and Scots are interchangeable - and, although we may be similar, (including some of our recipes) we're also totally different! I'm a proud Scot :cool:
 
that's a common mistake here in the usa ishbel, because of the massive waves of irish immigration through the end of the 19th century and into the 20th. many scots, who had moved to ireland for various political and economic reasons generations before, moved on to america, calling themselves the scots-irish, and settled mostly in the southeast.
 
Yes, Buckytom, but Norn Irish Scots aren't really Scots :LOL: They were mostly border reivers that we couldn't wait to get rid of :cool:
 
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