Day 328: Potato, Cabbage & Rapini Colcannon ♥

Potato, Cabbage & Rapini Colcannon, the classic Irish combination, creamy-good, low-carb potatoes.
Today's classic Irish potato dish, colcannon: Potatoes and cabbage cooked together, here with a touch of green for color and another flavor dimension, not too much though! The combination makes for something much like mashed potatoes except lower-carb, in fact, "low carb" as defined here, where a serving has fewer than 10 NetCarbs. Weight Watchers Friendly. Low Cal. Low Carb. Gluten Free. Primal. Vegetarian.

~recipe & photo updated 2014~
~more recently updated recipes~

2006: Y'know those wintry days when even the dog steps outside, squats quickly and 180s back inside? That's today. So when the supper plan required a trip to the grocery for no more than Parmesan, it was scrapped for another day. The feed-an-army-of-leprechauns fridge and freezer yielded a backup: grilled sausage with colcannon, the traditional Irish mashed potato and cabbage which has been top-o'-mind since seeing Albion Cooks' version with kale just a few days ago. Tonight's used broccoli rabe (aka rapini) and made for delicious winter fare for weather-bound leprechauns, dogs and humans.

2014: So good! Call me thrilled whenever recipes from A Veggie Venture's earliest days are as perfect as remembered! If you love potatoes, you'll love Colcannon. The added greens make for an extra-pretty look, too, I think. I did wonder, however, whether the 1:2 potato:cabbage ratio was right, wondering if a 1:1 ratio might be better. In part, this was because I forgot to cook off the excess liquid after draining the cooked potatoes and cabbage. Colcannon is really easy to have on hand, I served it with meatloaf one night, the next night warmed up with a poached egg on top, the next with pot roast.

COMPLIMENTS!
"Freddie ... asked me, 'Are you sure there really is cabbage in this?'" ~ Freddie's Mom Charlotte

RECIPE for POTATO, CABBAGE & RAPINI COLCANNON

Hands-on time: 10 minutes
Time to table: 40 minutes
Makes 3 cups

Salted water to cover
1/2 pound Yukon gold potatoes, skin on, diced
1 pound roughly chopped green cabbage
1/4 pound broccoli rabe, heavy stems removed, chopped (spinach would work too)
1 tablespoon sour cream
1/4 cup half 'n' half (or less, as needed)
Salt & pepper to taste

Bring the water to boil on MEDIUM HIGH in a pot that can be used for mashing later and has enough room for both the potatoes and the cabbage. Add the potato and cabbage as they're prepped, even before the water boils. Once it boils, reduce the heat to MEDIUM, cover and let simmer for 15 minutes or until both the potatoes and cabbage are soft. Add the broccoli rabe and cook for about 3 minutes, until soft but still bright green. Drain well and return to the hot pan. Mash with a hand potato masher. If needed, put back on the heat to cook off some any excess liquid. Add the sour cream and as much half 'n' half as needed to reach the right consistency. Season to taste, serve and enjoy!

ALANNA's TIPS & KITCHEN NOTES
NUTRITION NOTES (2006) For carb watchers, mixing a smaller portion of high-carb potato with a larger portion of low-carb cabbage is an excellent way to appease a hankering for mashed potatoes without overloading on carbs. This version was 1:2:4 rapini:potato:cabbage. If I hadn't added the cabbage myself, I'd never have known it was there. The calorie/carb differences are amazing. As made, with cabbage and potato, a serving is 73 calories, 9 grams NetCarbs and 1 Weight Watchers point. If it'd been made with ALL potato, a serving would have been 114 calories, 20 grams NetCarbs and 2 Weight Watchers points. WHAT a difference, especially when there is no taste difference.
BROCCOLI RABE, ALL MONTH LONG It's March and we're cooking broccoli rabe all month! And YOU are invited to join the fun! All month, food bloggers and readers are invited to share their favorite broccoli rabe concoctions, new or archived. There's a running round-up here -- check it out for ideas or bring your own!



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MORE FAVORITE CABBAGE RECIPES
~ Swedish Red Cabbage ~
~ Cabbage & White Bean Stew ~
~ Peasant Cabbage Tomato Soup ~
~ more cabbage recipes ~
from A Veggie Venture

~ Caraway Cabbage ~
~ Baked Cabbage Wedges ~
~ Alice Waters Coleslaw ~
~ more cabbage recipes ~
from Kitchen Parade, my food column

© Copyright Kitchen Parade 2006, 2014
Alanna Kellogg
Alanna Kellogg

A Veggie Venture is home of "veggie evangelist" Alanna Kellogg and the famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables.

Comments

  1. This looks wonderful Really like the idea of greens in potatoes. Trying to decide what version to make before the "big day" arrives.

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  2. That's so weird! I was thinking about colcannon yesterday - it's been snowy and cold here, too, and I'm still craving comfort food...so!

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  3. Looks yummy! I plan to try the cabbage version as well.

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  4. Hi Fran, Karina, Catherine -- glad it looks good to you -- it's so worthwhile! Especially since it only takes one pot vs all that separate cooking.

    ReplyDelete

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Thank you for taking a moment to write! I read each and every comment, for each and every recipe, whether a current recipe or a long-ago favorite. If you have a specific question, it's nearly always answered quick-quick. ~ Alanna