Some of you may or may not be familiar with colcannon. It's basically an Irish dish that uses mashed potatoes, onions and cabbage. Well, I hate the unholy stench of cabbage, so here's my take on it.
I don't pay attention to measurements or cooking time, I just kinda poke at it and eyeball. Feel free to use and modify to your appetite, number of dining partners and/or dietary and taste preferences.
What you'll need:
Potatoes (I usually use Maine potatoes)
A fist sized yellow onion
A handful of spinach
Butter and/or sour cream
Garlic powder or minced garlic
milk
black pepper
grated cheese (usually go for cheddar or pepper jack)
Whatever spices are in your cabinet and tickle your fancy (I usually wing everything I do in the kitchen)
Olive oil
Phase one:
Take about 6 medium to large potatoes and wash them. DO NOT peel them. The skins are good for you, so why go through extra boring effort to take the nutrients out of it? Get rid of any eyes, as well as chunks that are blackened or green, obviously. Cut them up into 1 to 2 inch cubes. Throw them in the pot and fill with water until the potatoes are just about submerged. put heat on high and cover. Pull out a book or log onto PD.com. After a while, think to yourself, "Oh shit the potatoes!" and uncover when they start to boil and the water starts to rise. Continue to boil on medium/low heat.
Phase two:
Take the onion and peel off the skin. Cut off the poles and then cut up the rest into slivers approximately half the size of your pinkie. Fry in the olive oil on the lower end of medium. While this is happening, take the handful of spinach, unchopped, and wash. Throw them on top of the onions and continue to fry until they wilt. Put heat to minimum, or turn off completely if potatoes are pretty soft. Grate the cheese if it isn't already grated. When the potatoes are nice and soft, strain.
Phase three:
Pour the milk, cheese, and butter/sour cream onto the strained potatoes. Mash the shit out of them until they are creamy (unless you like potato chunk in your mash), adding more milk if needed (you may want to put the heat back on low while adding the milk). When thoroughly mashed, throw in the onion and spinach and use the masher to stir them in, along with whatever other remaining ingredients are going in. Throw a glob or three onto your plate and enjoy. Goes well with Italian sausage or chicken cutlets. I usually also have steamed red or orange peppers as a side veg. Leftovers keep well for several days.
A common variation that I do is to include some sort of lemon seasoning.
I usually don't add salt at any point. The combination is good enough with out it.
Give it a try and let me know what you think.
-Twid.
Sounds tasty, though the name is more reminiscent of a siege weapon than a food.
Though considering Irish cuisine, I suppose it could be both.
I heartily approve of your decision to use primarily Maine potatoes.
Try it with kale, too, it's yummy.
Quote from: The Lord and Lady Omnibus Fuck on May 29, 2010, 08:39:45 PM
Try it with kale, too, it's yummy.
I've actually have never eaten kale before, I'll have to give that a try next time I make it.
Quote from: Nephew Twiddleton on May 30, 2010, 07:19:49 PM
Quote from: The Lord and Lady Omnibus Fuck on May 29, 2010, 08:39:45 PM
Try it with kale, too, it's yummy.
I've actually have never eaten kale before, I'll have to give that a try next time I make it.
Yay! Kale is also one of the most nutritious veggies there is.
Nice!
I'll have to add this to the potato mashing - stuff repetoire.
I had something like this for dinner last night, made form all the leftover stuff I was using for specials over the weekend. To the smoked garlic mashed potatoes I added the chopped bacon from the arrabiata special, the grilled onions from the sausage sandwich special, the baby spinach from the haddock florentine special, and some chunks of brie from the lobster & brie pizza special.
Possibly the single most expensive bowl of colcannon made in eastern Maine this year. And utterly delicious.
Using leftovers that may end up going on the waste sheet offsets the cost greatly. When I had my bar and grill I always planned the menu to reuse leftovers on the next meal.
Quote from: Exit City Hustle on June 01, 2010, 03:31:33 PM
I had something like this for dinner last night, made form all the leftover stuff I was using for specials over the weekend. To the smoked garlic mashed potatoes I added the chopped bacon from the arrabiata special, the grilled onions from the sausage sandwich special, the baby spinach from the haddock florentine special, and some chunks of brie from the lobster & brie pizza special.
Possibly the single most expensive bowl of colcannon made in eastern Maine this year. And utterly delicious.
Bacon in the colcannon? Dude!
Revelation: I have leftover bangers from cookout yesterday. I msut make this mash now.
Quote from: Richter on June 01, 2010, 08:54:21 PM
Revelation: I have leftover bangers from cookout yesterday. I msut make this mash now.
whazzabanger?
Quote from: Hawk on June 02, 2010, 12:22:20 AM
Quote from: Richter on June 01, 2010, 08:54:21 PM
Revelation: I have leftover bangers from cookout yesterday. I msut make this mash now.
whazzabanger?
Sausages, basically. Irish sausages and bacon are a little different than their American counterparts.
I cannot move.
I regret nothing.
Quote from: Hawk on June 01, 2010, 03:39:41 PM
Using leftovers that may end up going on the waste sheet offsets the cost greatly. When I had my bar and grill I always planned the menu to reuse leftovers on the next meal.
Someone recently told me that leftovers are probably the best part of every meal.
I wondered about this, but realized that, in a way, he is right.
I have a theory about this. Maybe ECH can say if it makes sense.
I find that the best sorts of recipes are either those that are made of just a few elementary ingredients, with some spices and flavourings subtly picked to enhance and bring out the best in these main ingredients. The other kind are meals that have a lot of different ingredients (like at least three different vegetables, not counting onions).
Good example is pasta sauce:
- An elementary one is, for instance, tomato+chopped black olive+anchovy+garlic, optimized with some black pepper and basil or oregano.
- When you add more things, feature creep* sets in. Some capers are probably a good idea, chopped onions go with almost everything, maybe a small hot pepper ... but once you add cubed zuccini or bell pepper you cross a line and arrive in a no-man's land of "really pretty damn good pasta sauce (because it will be), but somewhat arbitrary / random".
- You can't take things out of a sauce, so to fix this, your only option is to add more. Better hope you have more. You will need a small carrot chopped in tiny cubes. A dash of red wine. And at least one more
different vegetable (or meat? if you hadn't used anchovy, spicy sausage chunks would have been good. bacon cubes are probably always good), maybe some spinach (fresh chopped or a couple of frozen cubes), not stuff like broccoli or sprouts, they can really fuck up the flavour combo [may have to do with sulfur compounds?]. Colours may be important, like a different colour bell pepper.
*this is actually a Software Engineering / management term, but it describes the scenario well.
Quote from: Nephew Twiddleton on June 02, 2010, 12:40:46 AM
Quote from: Hawk on June 02, 2010, 12:22:20 AM
Quote from: Richter on June 01, 2010, 08:54:21 PM
Revelation: I have leftover bangers from cookout yesterday. I msut make this mash now.
whazzabanger?
Sausages, basically. Irish sausages and bacon are a little different than their American counterparts.
ZOMG RASHER.
We import bangers and rasher from England and Ireland at my pub. Sooo...Goood....
Quote from: Triple Zero on June 02, 2010, 09:53:46 AM
Quote from: Hawk on June 01, 2010, 03:39:41 PM
Using leftovers that may end up going on the waste sheet offsets the cost greatly. When I had my bar and grill I always planned the menu to reuse leftovers on the next meal.
Someone recently told me that leftovers are probably the best part of every meal.
I wondered about this, but realized that, in a way, he is right.
I have a theory about this. Maybe ECH can say if it makes sense.
I find that the best sorts of recipes are either those that are made of just a few elementary ingredients, with some spices and flavourings subtly picked to enhance and bring out the best in these main ingredients. The other kind are meals that have a lot of different ingredients (like at least three different vegetables, not counting onions).
Good example is pasta sauce:
- An elementary one is, for instance, tomato+chopped black olive+anchovy+garlic, optimized with some black pepper and basil or oregano.
- When you add more things, feature creep* sets in. Some capers are probably a good idea, chopped onions go with almost everything, maybe a small hot pepper ... but once you add cubed zuccini or bell pepper you cross a line and arrive in a no-man's land of "really pretty damn good pasta sauce (because it will be), but somewhat arbitrary / random".
- You can't take things out of a sauce, so to fix this, your only option is to add more. Better hope you have more. You will need a small carrot chopped in tiny cubes. A dash of red wine. And at least one more different vegetable (or meat? if you hadn't used anchovy, spicy sausage chunks would have been good. bacon cubes are probably always good), maybe some spinach (fresh chopped or a couple of frozen cubes), not stuff like broccoli or sprouts, they can really fuck up the flavour combo [may have to do with sulfur compounds?]. Colours may be important, like a different colour bell pepper.
*this is actually a Software Engineering / management term, but it describes the scenario well.
Some things don't even need to be touched other than simply reheated. For instance, chili is always best on the 3rd day.
I just used the leftovers for lunch, along with a slab of Herb's Spicy chicken. The fridge tiem really let the garlic and cheese flavor set in.
One of my favorite days was the day after Prime Rib day. I would make french dip using the drippings to make the aus jus.
Fuckyeah.
I downed a cup of aus jus one hungry day. (Blood for the Blood God.) Suu and Ge. Stuart thought this was too rich, and would make me puke.
Quote from: Suu on June 02, 2010, 12:50:49 PM
Quote from: Nephew Twiddleton on June 02, 2010, 12:40:46 AM
Quote from: Hawk on June 02, 2010, 12:22:20 AM
Quote from: Richter on June 01, 2010, 08:54:21 PM
Revelation: I have leftover bangers from cookout yesterday. I msut make this mash now.
whazzabanger?
Sausages, basically. Irish sausages and bacon are a little different than their American counterparts.
ZOMG RASHER.
We import bangers and rasher from England and Ireland at my pub. Sooo...Goood....
I'm a big fan of the Irish breakfast. Fucking love black pudding.
I find black pudding disgusting, mostly because well, I know what's in it. FIRST MISTAKE. That and my mom made that and blood pudding a lot.
Quote from: Suu on June 03, 2010, 01:18:12 AM
I find black pudding disgusting, mostly because well, I know what's in it. FIRST MISTAKE. That and my mom made that and blood pudding a lot.
You get past it. It's actually very tasty. I don't eat it often but I always look forward to it, despite what it is.
Bump. Literally been over a year.
Also, crossposting to Spagbook for relevance.
Appreciate the bump. Epic thread is epic.
Quote from: Telarus on July 01, 2011, 08:27:20 AM
Appreciate the bump. Epic thread is epic.
I love motherfucking pratai and I'm not going to pollute that with shitty cabbage. Next best thing. Spinach is the shit. :D
I googled 'black pudding'. :horrormirth:
NOTHING wrong with Black Pudding.
NOTHING!
It truly is Blood for the Blood God.
Quote from: Payne on July 01, 2011, 03:39:51 PM
NOTHING wrong with Black Pudding.
NOTHING!
I'd try it.
Quote from: Luna on July 01, 2011, 04:03:18 PM
Quote from: Payne on July 01, 2011, 03:39:51 PM
NOTHING wrong with Black Pudding.
NOTHING!
I'd try it.
It's delicious. Then again, I eat a lot of things that most people go *barfola* at. Scrapple is a perfect example.
I never liked black pudding. Mom would make it on occasion and tell us it was "Irish sausage", which isn't a lie, but I personally do not the flavor. The English and Irish spice sausage differently than what most Americans are used to (We typically get "Italian" varieties, or in New England, Portuguese) so you have to get past that first before you even bother asking what's in there.
Quote from: Her Royal Suuness on July 01, 2011, 04:39:15 PM
I never liked black pudding. Mom would make it on occasion and tell us it was "Irish sausage", which isn't a lie, but I personally do not the flavor. The English and Irish spice sausage differently than what most Americans are used to (We typically get "Italian" varieties, or in New England, Portuguese) so you have to get past that first before you even bother asking what's in there.
New rule, if there isn't anything in it that I know I'm allergic to or will immediately make me vomit, I'll try it. Which is why I had to try the Weapon X (which I suspect is very tasty, however, the fact that it stuns your taste buds into submission before they can report anything beyond, "oh, FUCK" makes that a tough call.)
It's not spicy, so you'll probably like it. I just...don't. I don't know what it is, but even though I've eaten it/been forced to eat it, I just have no love.
Quote from: LMNO, PhD on July 01, 2011, 03:41:36 PM
It truly is Blood for the Blood God totally awesome breakfast food.
Fixed
Quote from: Payne on July 01, 2011, 03:39:51 PM
NOTHING wrong with Black Pudding.
NOTHING!
I agree.
Bump for Bearman. He's making Irish stew.