St. Patrick's Day Special: Colcannon

My sister did a stint in Ireland a few years back and I had a hilarious whirlwind visit with her and my parents. We did some ridiculously scary driving from town to town, enjoying pints of Guinness and Irish fare along the way. Holy potatoes. Shepherd's pie, stew with mashed potatoes, meatloaf with mashed potatoes. Comfort food heaven, but good thing I brought some elastic waist pants for this trip. I loved the colcannon - a traditional Irish dish of mashed potatoes with cabbage or kale, boiled ham or bacon, and scallions. Talk about a one-pot meal! I decided to make my own version in honor of St. Patrick's Day this weekend - it is a hearty and satisfying meal.

Colcannon

Ingredients

3 pounds russet potatoes

1 1/2 sticks butter

1 1/4 cups hot milk

salt and pepper

1 head cabbage, cored and shredded

(1) 1-pound piece of ham, cooked

4 scallions, finely chopped

Directions:

Make the mashed potatoes: Peel and chop potatoes and cook in boiling salted water until tender - 15-20 minutes. Drain and mash potatoes. Add 1 stick of butter, chopped into pieces, and mash to combine. Add the hot milk and mash, and add salt and pepper to taste.

For the ham: Place the ham in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer 45 minutes. Drain and chop into small pieces.

Cook the cabbage: Boil the cabbage in unsalted water until tender - 30 or so minutes. In the final two minutes of cooking, add two tablespoons of butter and cover with the lid for 2 minutes - this tenderizes the cabbage. Drain the cabbage and chop into smaller pieces if desired.

Add the ham, cabbage and scallions to the mashed potatoes and gently combine. Adjust seasonings to taste. Serve the colcannon in individual bowls - make a well in the top of each one and place a pat of butter in each well. Serves 6-8 as a main course.