I spent a few years cooking in restaurants in Ontario, Canada before taking the plunge and getting formal training at the Ballymaloe Cookery School in Shannagary, Ireland. It was located on its own 100 acre organic farm on the quaint coast near the city of Cork. There we learned plenty of gourmet recipes but they also taught us how to embrace the humble potato. So much so, in fact, that we learned 22 potato recipes total.
According to the school’s cookbook, colcannon, is actually a Halloween dish. What makes it unique is the folding in of cabbage or kale throughout the mashed potatoes and topping it with a giant pat of butter. Be sure to enjoy this on your St Patrick’s Day celebration!
The ingredients for these mashed potatoes are fairly simple. Potatoes, chicken stock (or you can just use water), salt, cream, butter green onions and kale.
I love making mashed potatoes in an Instant Pot. No draining required! Just make sure to peel then cut the potatoes into equal size pieces.
Warming the cream ahead of time keeps the mashed potatoes piping hot before you serve them.
I used frozen kale since we don't have any seasonal greens available locally yet. Having a stash of frozen veggies in the freezer is always a good idea.
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Irish Style Instant Pot Colcannon
Servings: 8 people
Equipment
Instant Pot
1 small pot for warming cream
1 pot for blanching kale
Ingredients
3 lbs red potatoes peeled and cut into 1" cubes
1 ½ cup frozen kale I weighed mine out to about 130g worth of kale
½ cup heavy cream
1 cup chicken broth or water
1 ½ tsp kosher salt plus more for blanching kale
2 green onions tipped and sliced
¼ cup salted butter room temperature
Instructions
Put peeled and diced potatoes in the bottom of the Instant Pot insert. Pour in all of the chicken broth (or water) and sprinkle 1 ½ tsp kosher salt over top.
Pressure cook on high for 12 minutes and manually release the pressure.
Meanwhile, blanch the kale in a large pot of boiling water. Before you add the kale, add a pinch of salt to the water. Add the frozen kale to the boiling water and simmer for 3 minutes or until the kale is tender and bright green. Drain in a colander and set aside. Press any extra liquid out of the kale.
Put the cream into a small saucepan and heat gently over medium-low heat until just steaming, about 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat, set aside and add in the green onions.
As soon as the potatoes are done cooking, add the warmed cream to the potatoes and mash potatoes until smooth to your liking.
Fold kale into the mashed potatoes. Remove from instant pot and put into a serving dish.
Make a well in the center of the mash and put all of the butter in. Allow to melt slightly, 3-5 minutes before serving.
