Monday, January 7, 2008

Colcannon - An Irish delicacy ....

Breathing in from a hot oven in winter gives me immense pleasure and the much needed warmth. There is only so much that one can crib about the weather ;) I did that for a season or two and then found me some ways to enjoy the things that can be done when huddled indoors aka lotsa' baking ;) After all, the winters will roll in, whether it is your favorite season or not!!
.
.
My search for baked goods led me to an interesting Irish recipe for baked potato and cabbage!
I've seen a lot of versions of Colcannon, potato and cabbage being the most commonly used ingredients. It can contain other ingredients like onions, leeks or chives. The original version uses bacon bits and the fat leftover from frying bacon is used to cook the dish. Many use garlic, but it seems to be an optional ingredient and can be added to give another layer of flavor if you like it. I gather, one can use either cream or milk to bake the dish. I've also noticed the use of cheese in many recipes. There are also some innovative additions, like greens in the recipe. I guess the recipe can easily be adapted to one's taste, which I think is the beauty of this dish.



Here is what I came up with for the vegetarian version.
.
1 cup chopped cabbage
1 cup diced potato
1 cup milk/cream (can use cream for a richer taste)
salt/pepper as per taste
a pinch nutmeg
1 small onion thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped (use as per taste)
1-2 tbsp oil/butter
1-2 tbsp grated cheese (optional)
.
1. Boil cabbage and potato. This can be done either on a stove top or in a microwave.
2. Add salt and pepper to taste and mash it.
3. Heat oil/butter, add onion and garlic, saute for just two minutes, do no let brown.
4. Add milk, bring to a boil and simmer for a couple of minutes. Add nutmeg.
5. Grease a baking dish and add potato mixture. Cover with milk mixture and check for seasoning. Top with cheese(if using) and bake in a pre-heated oven for 45 minutes at 350.
Enjoy steaming hot Colcannon!
Don't be fooled by the simple ingredients, it makes for one warm and yummy dish!
.
NOTE: Please note that I've shaped it into discs for photographs only. This is a white colored baked dish and was one tough dish to photograph, hence this presentation :)
.


A few more dishes for the Potato/Alu lover in you :)

Baby Alu Jeera Fry

Vatana Bateta Tameta nu Shaak

45 comments:

FH said...

We had 4 days of bitter cold here too, suddenly turned bone chilling cold last week. But we are back to upper 50s now, so it's all good here!:)
Unfamiliar name but spuds are always welcome any time in any form.Looks yum for a cold day. Be warm Richa!:))

Richa said...

thanks asha!
yup, we too r expecting beautiful wdr this week, late 50's..:)
oh yes, my very fav aloooo it is :)

Sig said...

I saw the title and was thinking, wow,there is a vegetarian Irish dish!! :) I see that you had to adapt a bit... The picture looks wonderful, great presentation... Stay warm sweetie :)

Richa said...

thanks sig!
am so glad u liked the pics, it was so tough to take a pic of a white baked dish, finally i dressed it up for presentation :)

Finla said...

Wow very clever in adapting to vegetarian.
Never ever had them.

J said...

Nice presentation and adaptation! Stay warm!:)

Archana Doshi said...

hey richa, nice recipe. Looks like you guys are severing the winter:). I used to live in Boston (8 long yrs), now back in Bangalore- Cant tell you how great the weather is here, how about 75F :)
BTW, great picture, in a tray on grass in cold weather.:)
Archana
http://www.archanaskitchen.com/

Namratha said...

Well plated Richa, looks appetizing. Colcannon is a new word to me, will read up on it! :)

remya said...

wow!!! lovely presentation...kudos to u dear...dish is new to me....

DK said...

ur presentations always rocks girl! Good info :)

Rajitha said...

love the presentation richa..it is 52 degrees for us here..it was fun to don a lite jacket instead of the heavy coat and step out!!

bee said...

sounds yummy. you could send it for JFI-Onion.

Mansi said...

Irish huh! nice:) I can try anything irish, as long as it has no meat:)

Richa said...

thanks hc!

thanks jyothsna!

thanks archana!
75, u making me j???? :)

thanks namratha! yup, it's good to know new dishes!

thanks remya!

Richa said...

thanks dhivya for ur sweet comments. means a lot to me :)

thanks rajitha! we too r expecting good wdr this week :) late 50's yippeee

thanks bee! will send it to jfi, tx

thanks mansi! don't worry, no meat for ya :)

sunita said...

It is cold in our neck of the woods , but not as much as you folks are experiencing...that is a new name ...thanks for enlightening me...and it looks great :-)

Lata said...

Hmm, this is something that I never heard of. Will bookmark this and try when I get Cabbage next time.

btw, we have 70 degrees weather here and I went for a nice 30 min walk. I hope this stays for a while.

TBC said...

I've never heard of this dish.
But potatoes and garlic can never be bad:-)

Nupur said...

Ah, I have been meaning to try colcannon for ages! I will have to make this for St. Patty's day :)
Your version looks perfect for a winter supper. Love the cute presentation.

Ramya's Mane Adige said...

Lovely recipe richa!! Was wondering where you had disappeared.... :) The pic looks gr8 too

amna said...

first time i am hearing about this dish but the ingredients are surely not new to me :)

musical said...

I can imagine the taste, dear! Bake more and have my share too :-D. The pictures look sooooooo good!

indosungod said...

Richa, love the "calcannon" the dish looks perfectly comforting for a cold winter night or day :)

Are you enjoying the few warm ones after the cold snap?

Padma said...

This dish looks so lovely, no wonder u had to struggle in taking that snap, but hard work pays off! thats a wonderful snap! I can imagine the taste and aroma of it from the ingredients...

Thanks for ur warm welcome message on my blog and wish u & ur family a very happy new year!

Richa said...

thanks sunita! glad u liked it dear, it was so yummy :)

thanks lata! wow! 70C that's beautiful, enjoy...

thanks tbc!

thanks nupur! do try it, seasoning it well is important 'coz the no. of spices is minimal :)

Richa said...

thanks ramya! i always look forward to ur sweet comments & support :)

thanks nags! hope aloooo is not new to you....lol

thanks musy! jaroor ji, will bake often :)

thanks isg! yup, wdr has been beautiful since 2 days, this week is expected to get some lovely wdr :)

thanks padma! so glad u liked the pic and the dish, it is really quick and easy to make :)

Pooja said...

wow richa,
this is simply looking wonderful .
love the way you took pictures of them too !
kepe posting....

TheCooker said...

Nice presentation!
Another way to enjoy them spuds.

Latha said...

sounds really unique Richa! And very innovative indeed! Lovely pictures...

Sagari said...

every body loves mashed potatoes adding cabbage to it makes it more healthy version very nice recipe richa pic looks beautiful

Seena said...

New name, and very new item!
Love the way you presented it, great!

Swati said...

A new thing for me too!!
Was wondering whether it is vegetarian or not and was left with a big grin...
Awesome pic!!

Seema said...

Something new i have not heard of.. but looks delicious. Great picture & presentation!!

Shivapriya said...

Really delicious and nice picture n plate setting:).

Cynthia said...

I like your food styling, very attractive indeed.

Richa said...

thanks pooja!

thanks tc!

thanks latha!

thanks sagari!

thanks seena!

thanks sugarcrafts!

thanks seema!

thanks shivpriya!

thanks cynthia!

thank you ladies! appreciate ur time and sweet messages :)

Susan said...

I blogged about colcannon for St. Patrick's Day '07. As I recall, my photo was pretty awful, a combination of no camera skills and a dumpy, lumpy (but comforting) mess of potatoes. You did better than I, Richa. : )

DEEPA said...

Richa you rock as usual .....Awesome presentation and excellent recipe .....

Raks said...

Looks so lovley ! Potato is my favourite and thaks for sharing!

Pooja V said...

The pic looks stunning & i am sure every bite was heavenly.

Laavanya said...

Richa, i just read in one of the other blogs that your grandma makes the best nankhatai ... Would you be able to post the recipe sometime? Thank you. :)

Roopa said...

wow looks great richa :)

Richa said...

thanks susan, appreciate ur sweet comment.

thanks deepa! u r so generous.

thanks raks!

thanks pooja!

thanks laav! will try to get it for ya.

thanks roopa!

Shella said...

Richa - this is diff, n sure looks good. I am sure it must have been creamy & very comforting.... potatoes are .....

Kribha said...

It's a totally new dish for me. Looking at the name I thought it must be something difficult. But I was so surprised. The recipe sounds so simple and the dish looks really creamy and yummy.