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I’m not Irish, but I still like cabbage
By Ann | March 18, 2008
In honor of St. Patrick’s day, Cooking the Books dipped into the “side dishes” chapter of The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The New Classics and made a large, starchy dish of colcannon. What is colcannon? It’s an Irish dish of boiled potatoes mashed with leeks, cabbage, milk and butter. According to my favorite reference book ever, The Penguin Companion to Food: “the word ‘colcannon’ is from the Gaelic cal ceannann which literally means white-headed cabbage. However, the ‘cannon’ part of the name might be a derivative of the old Irish cainnenn, translated variously as garlic, onion, or leek.”
Perhaps my colcannon got a bit over-zealously browned under the broiler. The well in the middle contains melted butter, which you’re supposed to drizzle over individual portions as you spoon them out. What does colcannon taste like? Imagine mashed potatoes mixed with boiled cabbage and leek. There you have it folks, hearty, simple and plain (though I guess Irish cuisine isn’t exactly known for its complex, layered flavor).
I imagine colcannon would match up nicely with stew, or roasted joint. But I was in an anti-meat mood yesterday, and instead made this haricots verts and goat cheese salad with almonds (pictured above). I quite enjoyed the way the sharp vinegar and tangy goat cheese contrasted with the toasty almonds and squeaky crunch of green beans. But this was a typical Martha recipe, slightly too rich and yet, oddly, also too plain at the same time. Also, I thought it looked v. messy.
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