Traditional Irish Colcannon Recipe | Mean Green Chef (2024)

FAQs

What is Irish colcannon made of? ›

Colcannon is an Irish dish that's made of mashed potatoes, shredded cabbage or kale, green onions and tons of butter and whole milk. Sometimes crumbled bacon is added for an extra-succulent, salty flavor.

Colcannon is a hearty dish that has been eaten on Halloween night for years. Traditionally, a ring was hidden in the dish, and whoever was to find it would be likely to marry in the upcoming year! Colcannon was even paired with a little poem: Did you ever eat Colcannon, made from lovely pickled cream?

The name comes from the Gaelic phrase “cal ceannan,” which means “white-headed cabbage”. One of the earliest written references to colcannon comes from the diary of William Bulkeley, who wrote on October 31, 1735 while on a visit to Dublin: “Dined at Coz. Wm.

Champ and colcannon are both favorite Irish mashed potato dishes. They're very similar, though champ recipes tend to feature spring onions (scallions) alone, while colcannon adds cabbage, kale, or leeks.

Colcannon is made with cabbage or kale while champ is made by flavoring milk with green onions, then mixing them into mashed potatoes. To finish the dish off, it's mixed with melted butter.

What is the difference between Colcannon and Champ? Both Irish dishes, Champ is mashed potatoes with chopped spring onions (scallions) and milk. Colcannon is Champ with the addition of cabbage and sometimes some herbs.

Colcannon is mashed potatoes and chopped cabbage and usually chopped ham or bacon. Bubble and squeak is mashed leftover potatoes and chopped cabbage mixed up and fried as single round cake, and then sliced and served usually at breakfast.

Until the arrival of the potato in the 16th century, grains such as oats, wheat and barley, cooked either as porridge or bread, formed the staple of the Irish diet. The most common form of bread consisted of flatbread made from ground oats.

The Irish immigrants also realized that cabbage was a more readily available vegetable in America than in Ireland, where it was traditionally a fall and winter vegetable. So they combined the corned beef with cabbage to create a hearty, filling meal that was reminiscent of their homeland.

Colcannon is a mixture of cooked and shredded cabbage and mashed potatoes. The word colcannon is derived from the Gaelic term cal ceannann, which means "white-headed cabbage" — the vegetable most commonly mixed with potatoes in this dish.

Do Irish people eat mashed potatoes? ›

Mashed potatoes are a staple food in almost every Irish household, but the side dish has a long and storied history that has little to do with Ireland. Where did mashed potatoes originate? Imported from South America in the 16th century, potatoes initially failed to take off in Europe as a delicacy.

Colcannon is full of flavor. If you like mashed potatoes, you'll most likely love this dish. The mashed potatoes get tons of flavor from the green onions and a nice texture from the chopped kale. We all love butter and milk in our potatoes, so that is also in this colcannon recipe with salt and pepper to taste!

Colcannon is mashed potatoes and chopped cabbage and usually chopped ham or bacon. Bubble and squeak is mashed leftover potatoes and chopped cabbage mixed up and fried as single round cake, and then sliced and served usually at breakfast.

According to Regina Sexton, food and culinary historian and programme manager, Postgraduate Diploma in Irish Food Culture, University College Cork, corned beef and cabbage is not a dish much known in Ireland. What the Irish actually eat is bacon and cabbage. "A traditional dinner is bacon, potatoes, and cabbage.