Traditional Irish Curly Kale aka Colcannon

Ingredients:

800g potatoes (4 medium specimens), preferably a floury variety
200ml milk (or more if you prefer a looser consistency)
50g butter
1/2 tsp salt or to taste, plus more for boiling the potatoes
100g minced kale (see below)

As always for mash, a potato ricer is the tool of choice, but it?s not mash-threatening if you don?t have one.

Kale ingredients:

100g curly kale, after thick stalks removed
4 Tbls chopped flat leaf parsley
1 spring onion, white and green parts sliced
1 small clove garlic
1 Tbls extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp fine salt
freshly ground black pepper
A food processor for combining everything.

Method:

Kale

Bring a saucepan of water to the boil.
Add the kale, bring back to the boil and boil for about a minute, then drain and rinse well under cold running water.

Squeeze any excess water from the kale.

Add the kale, parsley, spring onion, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and a few twists of black pepper to the food processor and pulse until everything is finely minced not puree'd.

Potatoes

Peel your potatoes and cut into roughly even-sized slices, around 1-2cm thick.
Rinse them under cold water.

Bring about 1.5l of water to the boil in a saucepan, add about 2 tsp salt and the potato slices.

Bring back to the boil and reduce to a simmer.
Simmer gently, covered, for around 12-15 minutes or until just fork-tender.

When the potatoes are done, drain well and return them to the saucepan.
Then let them sit, covered by a tea-towel, for about 5 minutes so while they dry out.

Put the cooked and still warm potatoes through a potato ricer if you have one, or mash with a potato masher or, if all else fails, a fork.

Add the milk and butter to small heavy saucepan and place over a medium heat just until the butter has melted.
Then remove from the heat and mix into the potatoes.

Add the salt and minced kale, taste and adjust seasonings.

It?s perfectly alright to eat a bowl of this on its own, though it?s ideal accompaniment is a poached egg on top.

The Results:Colcannon for around 4 to 6 people