Colcannon is a traditional Irish dish made from mashed potatoes,
kaleKale or borecole is a form of cabbage , green or purple, in which the central leaves do not form a head. It is considered to be closer to wild cabbage than most domesticated forms. The species Brassica oleracea contains a wide array of vegetables including broccoli, cauliflower, collard greens, and...
or
cabbageThe cabbage is a popular cultivar of the species Brassica oleracea Linne of the Family Brassicaceae , and is used as a leafy green vegetable...
, butter, salt, and pepper. It can contain other ingredients such as milk, cream, leeks, onions, chives, garlic, boiled ham or Irish bacon. At one time it was a cheap, year-round staple food.
An old Irish
HalloweenHalloween is an annual holiday celebrated on October 31. It has roots in the Gaelic pagan festival of Samhain and the Christian holy day of All Saints. It is largely a secular celebration but some have expressed strong feelings about perceived religious overtones...
tradition was to serve colcannon with prizes of small coins concealed in it, as the English do with
Christmas puddingChristmas pudding is the dessert traditionally served on Christmas day. It has its origins in England, and is sometimes known as plum pudding, though this can also refer to other kinds of boiled pudding involving a lot of dried fruit.-History:...
.
Colcannon is a traditional Irish dish made from mashed potatoes,
kaleKale or borecole is a form of cabbage , green or purple, in which the central leaves do not form a head. It is considered to be closer to wild cabbage than most domesticated forms. The species Brassica oleracea contains a wide array of vegetables including broccoli, cauliflower, collard greens, and...
or
cabbageThe cabbage is a popular cultivar of the species Brassica oleracea Linne of the Family Brassicaceae , and is used as a leafy green vegetable...
, butter, salt, and pepper. It can contain other ingredients such as milk, cream, leeks, onions, chives, garlic, boiled ham or Irish bacon. At one time it was a cheap, year-round staple food.
An old Irish
HalloweenHalloween is an annual holiday celebrated on October 31. It has roots in the Gaelic pagan festival of Samhain and the Christian holy day of All Saints. It is largely a secular celebration but some have expressed strong feelings about perceived religious overtones...
tradition was to serve colcannon with prizes of small coins concealed in it, as the English do with
Christmas puddingChristmas pudding is the dessert traditionally served on Christmas day. It has its origins in England, and is sometimes known as plum pudding, though this can also refer to other kinds of boiled pudding involving a lot of dried fruit.-History:...
. This is still done today and small amounts of money are placed in the potato.
It is similar to the modern version of the English dish,
bubble and squeakBubble and squeak is a traditional English dish made with the shallow-fried leftover vegetables from a roast dinner. The chief ingredients are potato and cabbage, but carrots, peas, brussels sprouts, and other vegetables can be added. It is traditionally served with cold meat from the Sunday...
. In Atlantic Canada (especially Nova Scotia and Newfoundland), a local version of the dish is popular among those raised in rural communities. Brought to the provinces by Irish and Scottish settlers, the recipe consists of potatoes, milk, butter, diced carrots and turnip mashed together. This gives it a distinct orange and white colour (as opposed to the green of the Irish version). Some also add onions, garlic and even chopped up bacon. It is routinely served during large holiday meals like
ChristmasChristmas , also referred to as Christmas Day, is an annual holiday celebrated on December 25 that commemorates the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. The day marks the beginning of the larger season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days. The nativity of Jesus, which is the basis for the anno Domini...
, New Years Eve, Robbie Burns night and Canadian
ThanksgivingThanksgiving may refer to:*Thanksgiving , the holiday on the fourth Thursday in November.*Thanksgiving , the holiday on the second Monday in October.*Thanksgiving...
.
The Dutch also have a dish that is similar called
stamppotStamppot is a traditional Dutch dish made from a combination of potatoes mashed with one or several other vegetables, sometimes also with bacon. These vegetable pairings traditionally include sauerkraut, endive, kale, or carrot and onion . It is usually served with sausage or stewed meat...
boerenkool, made from potatoes and kale mashed together with milk, butter, salt, and pepper, and often served or cooked with a large sausage. A condiment of pickled pearl onions is common.
The Welsh "cawl cennin", pronounced vaguely like colcannon, means "leek soup", literally "broth (of) leeks", but this is just a coincidence of forms. The full etymology goes back to Irish (shortened to ), literally "cabbage head-white", as indicated above. Welsh also can mean cabbage, however the usual word is . Irish would be Welsh .
Similar dishes
- Bubble and squeak
Bubble and squeak is a traditional English dish made with the shallow-fried leftover vegetables from a roast dinner. The chief ingredients are potato and cabbage, but carrots, peas, brussels sprouts, and other vegetables can be added. It is traditionally served with cold meat from the Sunday...
from England
- Rumbledethumps
Rumbledethumps is a traditional dish from the Scottish Borders. The main ingredients are potato, cabbage and onion. Similar to Irish colcannon, and English bubble and squeak, it is either served as an accompaniment to a main dish or as a main dish itself....
, from ScotlandScottish cuisine is the specific set of cooking traditions and practices associated with Scotland. It shares much with wider British cuisine but has distinctive attributes and recipes of its own, as a result of foreign and local influences both ancient and modern...
- Pyttipanna
Pyttipanna, also pytt i panna , is a hodgepodge of food similar to hash. Traditionally consisting of potatoes, onions, and any kind/s of meat and/or sausage, diced and then pan fried, it is often served with a fried egg, pickled diced beets, sour pickled gherkin, and capers...
, from SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
- Biksemad, from Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries; southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and it is bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea...
- Trinxat, from the Empordà
Empordà is a historical region of Catalonia divided since 1936 into two comarques, Alt Empordà and Baix Empordà....
region of CataloniaCatalonia is an Autonomous Community in northeast Spain. The capital city is Barcelona.Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an official population of 7,364,078. It borders France and Andorra to the north, Aragon to the west, the Valencian Community to the south, and the...
, northeast SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
, and AndorraAndorra , officially the Principality of Andorra , also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra, is a small landlocked country in southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. It is the sixth smallest nation in Europe having an area of ...
- Roupa Velha (Portuguese for "old clothes"), from Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
, often made from leftovers from Cozido à Portuguesa
- Stamppot
Stamppot is a traditional Dutch dish made from a combination of potatoes mashed with one or several other vegetables, sometimes also with bacon. These vegetable pairings traditionally include sauerkraut, endive, kale, or carrot and onion . It is usually served with sausage or stewed meat...
, from the NetherlandsDutch cuisine is shaped by the practice of farming, including the cultivation of the soil for raising crops and the raising of domesticated animals and the history of the Netherlands....
- Stoemp
Stoemp is a dish in the cuisine of Belgium and the Netherlands. It consists of pureed or mashed potatoes, other root vegetables and can also include cream, bacon, herbs or spices....
from BelgiumThe Kingdom of Belgium is a country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major international organizations, including NATO...
- Hash (food)
Hash is an American dish consisting of a mixture of beef , onions, potatoes, and spices that are mashed together into a coarse, chunky paste, and then cooked, either alone, or with other ingredients...
, from the United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
- Also see hash browns and potato cake
Potato cakes may refer to different preparations of potatoes.In the U.S., the term commonly refers to a patty of hashed potatoes, a kind of hash brown...
entries