St Patrick's Day Colcannon and kale recipe

St Patrick's day is coming up soon, and that's when I like to enjoy an Irish American tradition....corned beef and cabbage. But I get tired of the same old boiled potato side dish and started making colcannon.  Originally I searched for ideas and recipes from the internet, but ended up making some changes to a recipe that looked interesting.  This version has kale and bacon.  If you are not a fan of kale, even my husband likes this one and his idea of kale is that it should line the bottom of the trash can.  You can also use spinach if you must.

Here's one of our new family favorite recipes:

 

St. Patty’s Day Colcannon

Serves 4-6

 

1 ½ lb	Russet potatoes
½ tsp	Kosher salt
6 slices	Bacon
½ medium	Onion or sliced green onions
1 ½ cups	Kale
⅓ cup	Milk, or more as needed
¼ cup	Unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for drizzling
	Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Peel potatoes and cut into 1” dice.  Place potatoes in a saucepan with enough cold water to cover. Bring to a boil.  Add ½ tsp kosher salt.  Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until tender.  Drain and when the potatoes are cool enough to touch, place through a potato ricer to make them perfectly smooth.  You can also mash the potatoes by hand to get out all the lumps. 

Meanwhile, cut bacon into 1” pieces and place in a large, deep skillet.  Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown.  Remove bacon but leave the drippings in the pan.   

Dice the onion and set aside.   

Remove stems from kale and chop kale into small pieces.  Place both onion and kale into the pan with the drippings.  Sauté until onions and kale begin to brown. 

Add warm milk and melted butter to potatoes.  Add in the crispy bacon and stir to mix well. Stir in kale and onions to potatoes. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

To serve, melt additional butter and drizzle over the top, if desired.