Colcannon (potatoes, cabbage, leeks and kale)

Another St. Patrick's Day has passed and this year I tried another new recipe.

St. Patrick's Day is special for us because it was my late brother-in-law's birthday. He passed away from a skiing accident a week before he turned 15. We always have a nice meal with friends and family and toast Jeremy on St. Patrick's Day. He would've been 35 this year. Our son Jeremy is named after him.

This year, dinner was Irish onion soup, corned beef, Yorkshire pudding and colcannon. Colcannon is a mashed-potato dish with cabbage, leeks and (sometimes) kale. I thought the leeks was also a neat nod to Meredith's grandmother who was born in Wales. I've never actually cooked with kale, so I thought it would be an interesting adventure.

I understand that kale can sometimes be bitter, however, I was hoping that cooking it really well in butter with salt and pepper would fix that, and it did.

From all of the recipes that I looked at to cobble this together, one in particular caught my attention in the method department so I borrowed from it. Just because of the quantities of vegetables, I split the frying into two batches, one for the kale, and one for the cabbage. I think it would've been messier if everything was in the pan at once.

The final result turned out great. I attribute the results to the butter, not-too-high fry temperature and the good company.

print recipe

Colcannon (potatoes, cabbage, leeks and kale)

by Daniel Saraga April-13-2012

This colcannon recipe is a combination of a few different recipes and methods that I read about.

Ingredients

• 8 small-medium potatoes, washed and quartered
• 1 bunch (3-4) leeks
• 1+1+1 tbsp (or more) butter
• 1 cup kale, vein removed and chopped
• to taste salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp water
• 1/4 cabbage (small), chopped
• 1/4 cup milk or cream
• 1 green onion, chopped
• 1/4 tsp dried dill

Instructions

1. Boil potatoes for 30 minutes and set aside.2. Discard most of the leek greens and slice leeks into 1/4-inch crescents.3. In a deep pan, Heat one tbsp butter medium-low add half of the leeks. Saute until leeks are soft.4. Add kale and 1 tbsp butter and saute for another minute.5. Add salt, pepper and 2 tbsp water, cover and reduce heat to low.6. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring once, until kale is soft.7. Set leek and kale mixture aside in a separate bowl. Return pat to medium-low heat, add butter and remaining leeks to the pan.8. Saute leeks for one minute and add cabbage. Saute cabbage and leeks for five minutes.9. Add salt and pepper, lower heat and let simmer for 10-15 minutes (turning cabbage once) until cabbage is soft and slightly browned (add water if necessary).10. Mash potatoes and add milk or cream.11. Gently fold in leek and kale mixture, then fold in leek and cabbage mixture.12. Garnish with green onion and dill before serving.

Details

Prep time: 30 mins Cook time: 1 hour Total time: 1 hour 30 mins Yield: 8 servings

Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen
Try other tasty recipes

Horseradish Cole Slaw

I saw an interesting recipe for a cole slaw that had horseradish in it, and it got me thinking. I haven't put horseradish on much aside from gefilte fish in quite a while. And I needed to buy some prepared horseradish anyway since Passover was just around the corner.

I used to use President's Choice horseradish mayo in mashed potatoes to make what I called "wasabi mashed potatoes." Meredith likes horseradish on roasts. I actually can't remember the last time I made a roast.

Anyway, I'm quite picky when it comes to cole slaws. I don't like them too creamy or too sweet, so I had to do my own thing. I also had to use my fancy-pants Rickard's Sweet 'n Hot mustard. The horseradish I bought wasn't very hot at all, which was a little disappointing, but it was still tasty and didn't hurt our guest.

Next time, I might consider using the PC horseradish mayo as part of the recipe instead of using prepared horseradish.

print recipe

Horseradish Cole Slaw

by Daniel Saraga June-10-2011

This creamy cole slaw has a spicy zing.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 400g (approx 1 bag) cole slaw/shredded cabbage and carrot
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp prepared horseradish
• 1 tbsp mustard

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper.2. Toss vinegar mixture with cole slaw, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.3. In a small bowl, whisk together sour cream, mayonnaise, horseradish and mustard.4. Toss with cole slaw mixture, cover and refrigerate for another 30-60 minutes.

Details

Prep time: 1 hour Cook time: Total time: 1 hour Yield: 4 cups

Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen
Try other tasty recipes

Creamy Indian Cabbage Casserole

When I was home on parental leave, I had lots of time to cook Friday dinners. I had been wanting to try some of Kathy Gori's recipes from the Colors of Indian Cooking (with my own adaptations, of course), but many of them look intimidating or more time consuming than I was willing to commit to (I still had to take care of a baby, after all!).

One particular recipe caught my eye - a cabbage dish. It was the first time I'd seen cabbage in an Indian dish and her original post was specifically about bags of pre-sliced cabbage.

print recipe

Creamy Indian Cabbage Casserole

by Daniel Saraga May-13-2011

This creamy cabbage dish is a tasty side dish to any dinner.

Ingredients

• 4 cups shredded cabbage
• 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup unsweetened grated coconut
• 1/4 cup chickpea flour
• 1 tsp ginger, minced
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees.2. In a large bowl, combine cabbage, onion, coconut, flour, ginger, chilies, corriander and salt. Stir until evenly distributed.3. Add vegetable oil and water. Stir again and pour into an ungreased 8x12 pan.4. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake for 30-45 minutes, until the top is lightly browned.

Details

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 45 mins Total time: 1 hour Yield: 8-10 servings Inspired by the Colors of Indian Cooking A creamy cabbage dish with no dairy.

Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen
Try other tasty recipes

Balsamic Coleslaw

On Wednesday, Food Floozie posted a picture of Tom's coleslaw in balsamic vinaigrette. Unfortunately, wordless Wednesday means no recipe, so I was out of luck.

It only took a day for me to make my way to the grocery store, pick up some shredded cabbage and get to work. My big fear was that I'd screw it up. I sometimes have a problem working with balsamic. Meredith frequently (in the nicest way possible) tells me that the dressings are too strong.

Fortunately, I had a good recipe to work from that's served me well for years. I was able to make a few tweaks and my new balsamic coleslaw (my new favourite, by the way) turned out nice and tasty.

Balsamic Coleslaw

• 1 14 oz bag of shredded cabbage and carrots (I'm lazy)
• ¼ cup white vinegar
• ¼ cup sugar
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp balsamic mustard (or 1 tbsp dijon mustard)
• ¼ tsp sea salt
• ¼ tsp fresh ground black pepper

1. Stuff shredded cabbage into a jar.
2. Combine the remaining ingredients into a small pot, stir and heat until mixture comes to a boil and sugar dissolves.
3. Pour into jar, shake well and refrigerate for at least two hours before serving.

Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen
Try other tasty recipes

Get Grillin’ with Family Fresh Cooking and Cookin’ Canuck, sponsored by Ile de France Cheese, Rösle, Emile Henry, Rouxbe and ManPans.