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.

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.

Champ is similar to another Irish dish, colcannon, which uses kale or cabbage in place of scallions. Champ is popular in Ulster, whilst colcannon is more so in the other three provinces of Ireland. It was customary to make champ with the first new potatoes harvested.

Grains. 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.

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.

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.

What does colcannon mean in English? ›

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.

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.

In Ireland, scallions are chopped and added to mashed potatoes, known as champ or as an added ingredient to Colcannon.

Note: Colcannon may be prepared ahead and reheated later in a moderate oven at 350°F, for about 20-25 minutes. Any leftover colcannon may be formed into potato cakes and fried in bacon fat until crisp and brown on both sides—a cousin of bubble and squeak.

He comments that although the basic ingredients of bubble and squeak and colcannon are similar, the two are very different dishes, the former being traditionally made from left-overs and fried to give a brown crust, and the latter "a completely separate dish of potato, spring onion and cabbage, served almost as creamed ...

The first syllable 'col' is likely to be derived from the Irish 'cál' meaning cabbage. The second syllable may derive from 'ceann-fhionn' meaning a white head (i.e. 'a white head of cabbage') – this usage is also found in the Irish name for a coot, a white-headed bird known as 'cearc cheannan', or 'white-head hen'.

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.