Colcannon Recipe (Irish Mashed Potatoes with Cabbage)
This hearty recipe for Irish mashed potatoes with cabbage (aka Colcannon) combines rich, buttery mashed potatoes and cabbage sautéed with onion for a side dish that’s satisfying, nutritious, and delicious.
Put the potatoes in a medium pot and cover by 2 inches with cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then turn heat down and simmer until tender, about 7 to 10 minutes; drain. Put the drained potatoes back into the pot they cooked in, and mash them with 1 ¼ teaspoons salt and 5 tablespoons butter (leaving lumps if you like). Gradually mash in the half and half a little at a time so the potatoes absorb it all.
Add 5 tablespoons butter to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the cabbage, onion, remaining 11/2 teaspoons salt and the black pepper. Cook until tender, about 10 to 14 minutes. Stir in half of the sliced scallion, and cook 30 seconds more.
Stir the cabbage mixture into the mashed potatoes. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper as desired.
Serve hot, with the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and remaining scallion on top.
Notes
Recipe Inspiration: Recipe adapted from the recipe for Colcannon in Irish Pub Cooking published by Parragon Books Ltd.
Green Cabbage Substitute: If desired, you can substitute Savoy or Napa cabbage for the green cabbage in this recipe. Just be sure to decrease the cooking time accordingly (or if you prefer, you can use half the amount of kale instead).
What Type of Potatoes to Use: To make the mashed potatoes for this recipe, I like to use either Russet potatoes or Yukon Gold potatoes. Russets yield a light and fluffy mash with a creamy white color. Yukon Golds result in a rich and dense mash with a buttery yellow color. I used Yukon Gold potatoes to make this Colcannon recipe, but you can use whatever you prefer.
Marjoram: If I have it on hand, I like to add ½ teaspoon dried marjoram to this dish.