Colcannon

I bought another 5 lb bag of potatoes.  It was the same price as 2 lbs of loose russets.

The evening before, Alton Brown had attempted to make colcannon for the anniversary show of Quarantine Quitchen.  He didn't pre-cook the potatoes, so the whole thing ran long and the potatoes never did get done.  You know a cooking livestream is a disaster when the hosts start going through the fridge looking for leftovers.

Colcannon is Irish for butter with mashed potatoes and greens.  Nearly a whole stick of butter by the time you do garnish.  My cholesterol was kind of high at the last test, so I probably shouldn't be having this.  There's kale in it, half of it homegrown and the rest store-bought organic.  Most people think of colcannon as a cabbage dish, but kale is more traditional.  Kale-cannon.

I used the last of a bunch of green onions on the day because they were about to turn, but a leek would be an excellent choice for the onion.  You're going for a subtle tang, not an oniony taste.  Leeks or green onions will do that for you.

I'm loosely following a Simply Recipes post and just lightening it up a bit.  2% instead of cream, less butter, less salt.  It was still incredibly rich.

*4 medium Russet potatoes (about 2 to 2-1/2 lbs)
4 Tb unsalted butter, plus another Tb for garnish
*3 C lightly packed, chopped kale leaves
*1/2 C finely chopped green onion or leek
2/3 C milk
kosher salt

1.  Peel potatoes, cut into chunks, and place in a large pot with water to cover.  I kind of went for a "rustic" peeling.  This isn't vichyssoise; a few bits of skin won't hurt anybody.  Add about 1 Tb of salt to the water and bring to a boil.  Simmer until fork-tender, about 20 minutes.  Drain into a colander.

2.  Put the pot back on the stove over medium and melt the butter in it.  Add kale and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes.  Lacinato kale cooks faster than the curly stuff I grow.  Add onion and cook until softened, another couple of minutes.

3.  If you have a potato masher, add potatoes and milk to the pot at this point and mash them together.  I don't have one, and put the potatoes and milk into the stand mixer with the paddle.  This got them a lot smoother than I could have done by hand.  You could put the potatoes through a ricer or food mill as well.

4.  Stir together potato mash and greens.  Taste and add salt as needed.  Serve hot, with a knob of butter in the middle melting and making the dish more decadent.

Difficulty rating  :)