Colcannon

Adapted from Seward Co-op recipe

Ingredients

4 red potatoes

1 Tbs olive oil

1 head savoy cabbage, thinly sliced

1 head fennel, thinly sliced & frons(green tops) chopped

3 green onions, sliced

1/4 cup chives, chopped

4 Tbs ghee (clarified butter)

1 1/2 cups 2% milk

1 tsp grey salt

1 tsp freshly cracked pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees

2. Slice 2 potatoes, coat in olive oil, sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper, place on parchment lined baking sheet, and bake until golden brown-about 20-25 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, cut the other 2 potatoes into large chunks, cover with water in a large saucepan, cover, bring to a boil, and cook until fork tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and reserve about 2 cups of the cooking water. Lightly mash the potatoes with a potato masher.

4. Meanwhile, melt 1 Tbs of ghee in a large cast iron pan on medium low heat, saute the cabbage and fennel (not frons), until slightly wilted, about 8-10 minutes (cover to speed up wilting and keep in moisture).

5. Add roasted potatoes to the mashed potatoes, mash lightly, mix in remaining ghee, milk, green onions, salt, pepper, cabbage, and fennel. Cook for 5 minutes on low heat.

6. Stir in chives and fennel frons.

The Seward Co-op was giving away samples of colcannon, which I had never heard of before, and I was amazed at the flavor of the traditional Irish dish. I made this around St. Patrick's Day, so this is a little late, but you don't have to wait for next year to make this dish. I was a little reluctant about the fennel because I am not a fan of anise flavor, but I found out that when you cook fennel it gets sweeter and more mellow. I don't think this dish would have been as great without the fennel. The fennel frons looked like dill in the dish, which also got me to thinking that dill would be a great herb to add. The roasted potatoes were so tasty by themselves it was hard to mash them into the dish without wanting to eat them just the way they were. Eric and I ended up eating this dish as a whole meal because it was so filling. It was also great warmed up for lunch the next day at work. I highly recommend trying it.