Colcannon: Irish Mash with Cabbage and Butter

Colcannon is Ireland's great potato dish: buttery mash folded with cabbage or kale and spring onions, served with a pool of melted butter in the middle. It's traditionally eaten at Halloween, when a ring or coin was hidden in the bowl for luck. Ours keeps it honest: real butter, whole milk, no seed oils and no margarine.

Why butter?

Colcannon is built on butter, so we don't apologise for using plenty. It carries the flavour of the greens, makes the mash rich and silky, and that melting pool on top is the whole point. A good salted, grass-fed butter such as Kerrygold is the natural choice for an Irish dish. Butter browns at lower heat than lard or ghee, so we cook the cabbage over medium heat, never fierce. Our cooking fat smoke points guide explains why.

Serves: 4–6 as a side · Prep: 15 minutes · Cook: 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 1kg floury potatoes (Maris Piper, Russet or Yukon Gold), peeled and cut into even chunks
• Fine sea salt
• 300g savoy cabbage or curly kale, tough stems removed, finely shredded
• 100g salted butter, plus 30g extra to serve
• 4 spring onions, thinly sliced
• 200ml whole milk
• Freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Put the potatoes in a large pan of cold, well-salted water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15–20 minutes, until a knife slides in with no resistance.
2. Meanwhile, melt 30g of the butter in a wide frying pan over medium heat. Add the cabbage or kale with a pinch of salt and cook, stirring, for 5–7 minutes until tender and bright green, with a few golden edges.
3. Warm the milk, the spring onions and the remaining 70g of butter in a small pan until the butter melts. Do not let it boil.
4. Drain the potatoes well and let them steam dry in the colander for 2 minutes, then return them to the warm pan and mash until smooth.
5. Beat in the hot milk mixture a little at a time, then fold through the cabbage and every bit of butter from its pan. Season well with salt and pepper.
6. Spoon into a warm dish, make a well in the centre and drop in the extra 30g of butter so it melts into a golden pool. Serve straight away.

Tips

• Steam-drying the potatoes before mashing stops watery mash.
• Hot milk, never cold, keeps the mash fluffy.
• For a plainer mash, see our butter mashed potatoes; for a nuttier take, try ghee mashed potatoes.

Want the potatoes from your own garden? Grow Potatoes covers it.

FAQ

Can I make colcannon ahead?

Yes. Make it up to a day ahead, cool, cover and chill. Reheat gently in a buttered pan or a low oven with a splash of milk, and add the final knob of butter just before serving.

Kale or cabbage?

Both are traditional. Savoy cabbage is softer and sweeter; curly kale gives more texture and a deeper green. Use whichever looks best at the shop.

Can I use ghee or bacon fat instead of butter?

Fry the greens in ghee or rendered bacon fat if you like a nuttier or smokier note, but keep butter in the mash itself. Colcannon is a butter dish, and the flavour depends on it.

What potatoes work best?

Floury potatoes such as Maris Piper or Russet mash fluffiest. Yukon Gold is a good all-rounder with a buttery flavour. Avoid waxy salad potatoes, which turn gluey.

What do I serve with colcannon?

Sausages, boiled ham or bacon, roast chicken, or simply a fried egg on top. Leftovers make excellent fried potato cakes.