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Colcannon Cakes, Mashed Potatoes 2.0

The most flavourful, creamy mashed potatoes you'll ever meet, with all the brightness of sautéed greens folded in is already a great side dish. Turning them into potato cakes makes for a perfect brunch or dinner side.
Course Side Dish
Cuisine Irish
Keyword baby spinach, cabbage, leeks, swiss chard, Yukon Gold potatoes
Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

Colcannon

  • 2 1/2 lbs of Yukon Gold potatoes peeled and quartered, about 1.1 kg
  • 1 clove garlic add a second one if you feel like!
  • 6 tbsp butter, plus 2 tbsp for folding into the finished potatoes
  • 1/2 cup leeks, cleaned white and light green part only, chopped into half moons
  • 3 cups of chopped kale, Swiss chard, or cabbage, see Notes
  • 1 cup milk or cream
  • 1/4 tsp white pepper, or more to taste
  • 1/8 tsp nutmeg, or more to taste
  • 1/8 tsp dried red pepper flakes, or more to taste
  • salt
  • 1 tbsp chopped chives

Colcannon Cakes

  • About 3 cups of colcannon, chilled
  • 1 cup flour, more for dusting hands
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 2 tsp salt, or more to taste
  • 1 cup chopped cooked bacon, deli ham or even smoked salmon, optional
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 2 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

Colcannon

  1. Have all your greens chopped or shredded or minced as needed, and ready to go.

  2. Add the potatoes and garlic cloves to a pot, and cover with cold, well-salted water by an inch. Bring it to a boil, and then reduce to medium and cook until fork tender, about 15 minutes.

  3. Drain the potatoes and remove them from the pot to a large bowl. Lightly mash them or rice them and then cover with foil

  4. Melt the butter in the still warm pot, add the leeks and sauté for 2 minutes over medium heat.

  5. Add the chopped greens, sauté for 3-4 minutes until wilted.
  6. Add the greens to the potatoes, along with milk, the white pepper, a bit more butter, nutmeg and chilli flakes and fold until everything is well mixed. Taste and re-season with more spices and salt if needed.
  7. Garnish with chives and a dot of butter and serve.

Colcannon Cakes

  1. Use leftover colcannon from above, or a fresh batch

  2. In a large bowl, mix the colcannon with flour, egg, and salt. Taste and re-season as desired.

  3. If you want to fold in chopped cooked bacon, ham or smoked salmon do so now.

  4. You will want to chill the mixture for 15 minutes, to make it easier to shape the patties, especially if the colcannon you are using is fresh.

  5. Form the mixture into average sized cakes or patties, just remember the thicker they are, the longer it will take to cook through to the centre. If the mixture is too sticky, add more flour until the mixture is easy to work with. Also use flour on your hands to keep the patties from sticking to you. Place them all onto a wax paper lined baking sheet till ready to cook.

  6. Once a large sauté pan is actually warmed through over medium heat, add the butter and oil. Make sure the butter and oil are actually ready and not just melted. Working in batches, place the formed patties in the pan without crowding.

    Lower the heat to medium-low and gently fry until golden, about 3-4 minutes. Then flip over. If your patties are on the thicker side, reduce the heat to low so that the outside doesn't overcook before the centre is cooked through. Adjust the heat as you check each side. If they are cooked through but you want more colour, feel free to raise the heat.

  7. Place onto a parchment lined baking sheet. If you are making a large batch, store the finished cakes in a 250F oven till all are ready.
  8. Serve with hot sauce, eggs, smoked salmon, etc.
  9. Leftovers can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for 2 or 3 days, and re-heated as desired.
  10. See blog post for more details

Recipe Notes

If using baby spinach, just chop well, and add directly to the mashed potatoes along with all the other cooked greens. The residual heat will wilt them.