Thanksgiving Colcannon Recipes

Steps:

• Place potatoes, carrots and parsnips in a saucepan and cover by an inch with water. Add salt to taste, bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and cover partly. Simmer until tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Drain, return to pot and cover pot tightly. Leave to steam in covered pot for 5 minutes. Peel potatoes.
• Meanwhile, heat olive oil over medium heat in a heavy skillet and add leek. Cook, stirring often, until it begins to wilt, about 3 minutes. Add salt to taste and continue to cook, stirring, until very tender, 3 to 5 more minutes. Remove from heat.
• Mash vegetables with a potato masher or in a standing mixer fitted with the paddle, or put through a food mill. Combine butter and milk and heat until butter melts. Gradually add to purée, stirring or beating on low speed. Stir in leeks and mix until well blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Put through the fine or medium blade of a food mill, or press through a medium-mesh strainer. Garnish if desired with dill or chervil. Serve hot.

Steps:

• Steam the potatoes in their skins for 30 minutes. Peel them using a knife and fork. Chop with a knife before mashing. Mash thoroughly to remove all the lumps. Add 1 stick of butter in pieces. Gradually add hot milk, stirring all the time. Season with a few grinds of black pepper.
• Boil the cabbage in unsalted water until it turns a darker color. Add 2 tablespoons butter to tenderize it. Cover with lid for 2 minutes. Drain thoroughly before returning it to the pan. Chop into small pieces.
• Put the ham in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 45 minutes until tender. Drain. Remove any fat and chop into small pieces.
• Add cabbage, scallions, and ham to mashed potatoes, stirring them in gently.
• Serve in individual soup plates. Make an indentation on the top by swirling a wooden spoon. Put 1 tablespoon of butter into each indentation. Sprinkle with parsley.

Steps:

• Trim the cabbage, discarding tough outer leaves and the hard core. Cut it into quarters and steam the quarters until barely tender. Chop them fine and set aside.
• Meanwhile, steam or boil the potatoes until they are tender. Mash them and season them with salt and pepper to taste. Mix in the cabbage.
• In a large nonstick skillet, soften the onion in two tablespoons of the butter. Mix it with the cabbage and potatoes. Return the mixture to the pan and fry until it is browned on the bottom. Put a plate over the pan and invert to turn the mixture onto it like a pancake. Heat the remaining tablespoon of butter in the pan. Brown the potatoes and cover the cabbage mixture on the other side.

Steps:

• In a medium pot, combine the potatoes with enough water to cover them by 2 inches and a large pinch of salt. Boil until tender enough to easily pierce with a fork, 15 to 25 minutes. Drain.
• Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt butter, along with a drizzle of oil, then add leeks and a pinch of salt. Sauté over medium heat for 5 or so minutes. When the leeks are golden, spoon some out onto a plate to use for garnish.
• To the leeks in the pan, add the garlic cloves, and cook them for a minute until fragrant. Then, toss in the greens. Season with more salt and cook, tossing them, until the greens are wilted and very tender. If the pan looks dry, add a splash of water.
• Now add the potatoes to the skillet and mash them (so they're either smooth or chunky), and add some milk or vegetable broth, if you like, and a lot of butter. Taste, and add more salt and lots of pepper. Scatter on the fried leeks and more butter to melt in little pools across the top.
• Top with a fried egg or some smoked salmon, or serve a simple green salad on the side.