1 September, 2022

GAZ SMITH'S COLCANNON OF WEXFORD POTATOES WITH FRIED ONIONS, SWEETHEART CABBAGE AND KALE

This throwback recipe comes from Gaz Smith, our September 2022 cover star, from way back before he opened Michael's in Mount Merrion. He is set to open Big Mike's, his third outlet, in Blackrock soon - to get a sneak peek, read Gillian Nelis' first look article on businesspost.ie now

An Irish classic of “shpuds and wintery greens,” nothing is more comforting than a piping hot plate of silky buttery mash. Not forgetting the sweet fried onions, and the mixture of the sweetheart of the cabbage to the slightly bitter rounding of the kale. We get our spuds for this from my uncle’s garden in Wexford (when we can convince him to give them up)

WHAT YOU NEED

50g butter

100ml milk

10g salt

1 sprig thyme

1.5kg peeled potatoes, Rooster or Idaho Russet preferably

2 onions, peeled

200g sweetheart cabbage, sliced into 2.5cm slices

150g kale yeast

WHAT YOU DO

Step 1. Warm the butter, milk, salt and thyme in a small pot.

Step 2. I prefer to steam the potatoes for mash, I find it ends up in a smoother, tastier mash with less risk of ending up with potato soup. Steam the potatoes for around 25 minutes.
Step 3. Whilst the potatoes are steaming, fry the onions off in a thick based frying pan until they are golden brown. Start by frying the onions off in oil, and add butter at the end. Add the cabbage and kale and pinch of salt and pop a lid on the pan and ‘steam’ the cabbage in its own water for 1-2 minutes (you don’t want the cabbage to lose its crunch.)
Step 4. Mash the potatoes and whisk in the warm butter and milk mix until it’s smooth. Simply pour the cabbage and kale mix on top. Serve hot with a knob of salted Irish butter – the best in the world.

TIP: