st. paddy's

this is a dish we made this year to keep in mind for next year's feast. hope everyone had a great st. patrick's day filled with lots of corned beef, cabbage, potatoes and Guinness! if you have any leftover you should definitely try making patties and frying them up for breakfast. besides cabbage, the traditional recipe calls for other greens and what's used usually varies depending on the region in ireland it is prepared. we used spinach and it was wonderful but any combination of potatoes and butter is probably great. enjoy!

Colcannon

4 lbs red potatoes, partially peeled & quartered
12 tbs unsalted butter
1/2 head green cabbage, cored & sliced
2 cups chopped greens (spinach, parsley, kale or broccoli leaves)
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 cup milk, warmed
salt & pepper to taste
in a large pot, simmer potatoes until tender, about 30-40 minutes. meanwhile, bring 1/2 cup water and 2 tbs butter to a boil in a small pot. add cabbage and reduce heat to medium. cook until tender, about 15 minutes. drain well and set aside. in a large skillet, melt 2 tbs butter over medium high heat and add chopped greens and green onions. saute until just wilted, add cabbage and keep warm.
drain potatoes well and return to pot. add warm milk and remaining butter and mash with a potato masher, leaving some chunks. add cabbage mixture and season with salt and pepper to taste.