Irish Style Instant Pot Colcannon Mashed Potatoes and Kale

I spent a few years cooking in restaurants in Ontario, Canada before taking the plunge and getting formal training at the Ballymaloe Cookery School in Shannagary, Ireland. It was located on its own 100 acre organic farm on the quaint coast near the city of Cork. There we learned plenty of gourmet recipes but they also taught us how to embrace the humble potato. So much so, in fact, that we learned 22 potato recipes total.

According to the school’s cookbook, colcannon, is actually a Halloween dish. What makes it unique is the folding in of cabbage or kale throughout the mashed potatoes and topping it with a giant pat of butter. Be sure to enjoy this on your St Patrick’s Day celebration!

The ingredients for these mashed potatoes are fairly simple. Potatoes, chicken stock (or you can just use water), salt, cream, butter green onions and kale.

I love making mashed potatoes in an Instant Pot. No draining required! Just make sure to peel then cut the potatoes into equal size pieces.

Warming the cream ahead of time keeps the mashed potatoes piping hot before you serve them.

I used frozen kale since we don't have any seasonal greens available locally yet. Having a stash of frozen veggies in the freezer is always a good idea.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Irish Style Instant Pot Colcannon

Servings: 8 people

Equipment

• Instant Pot

• 1 small pot for warming cream

• 1 pot for blanching kale

Ingredients

• 3 lbs red potatoes peeled and cut into 1" cubes

• 1 ½ cup frozen kale I weighed mine out to about 130g worth of kale

• ½ cup heavy cream

• 1 cup chicken broth or water

• 1 ½ tsp kosher salt plus more for blanching kale

• 2 green onions tipped and sliced

• ¼ cup salted butter room temperature

Instructions

• Put peeled and diced potatoes in the bottom of the Instant Pot insert. Pour in all of the chicken broth (or water) and sprinkle 1 ½ tsp kosher salt over top.

• Pressure cook on high for 12 minutes and manually release the pressure.

• Meanwhile, blanch the kale in a large pot of boiling water. Before you add the kale, add a pinch of salt to the water. Add the frozen kale to the boiling water and simmer for 3 minutes or until the kale is tender and bright green. Drain in a colander and set aside. Press any extra liquid out of the kale.

• Put the cream into a small saucepan and heat gently over medium-low heat until just steaming, about 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat, set aside and add in the green onions.

• As soon as the potatoes are done cooking, add the warmed cream to the potatoes and mash potatoes until smooth to your liking.

• Fold kale into the mashed potatoes. Remove from instant pot and put into a serving dish.

• Make a well in the center of the mash and put all of the butter in. Allow to melt slightly, 3-5 minutes before serving.

Stuffed Delicata Squash with Ground Veal

I got inspired to write this recipe when I thought about how delicious the combination of a cream sauce and dill is with delicate humanely raised veal. I also love the texture of delicata squash as well as the fact that you can eat the skin of it, too! Truly a seasonal meal with squash as the base however if you HAVE to eat this on top of a pasta, I’d recommend Ferme Reveuse’s home made spaetzle that you can order off of their website.

Stuffed Delicata Squash with Ground Veal Cream Sauce
Serves 4

2 delicata squash
1 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper

8oz mushrooms, sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1 lb Ferme Reveuse ground veal
3/4 cup Ferme Reveuse bone broth
1 tsp dried dill
1/2 cup cream
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp corn starch or arrowroot starch

Cooked and seasoned swiss chard and rice for serving, optional

Preheat oven to 350F. Meanwhile, cut delicata squash in half length-wise and scoop out the seeds. Poke flesh of the squash in several places with a fork. Brush with 1 tsp olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place cut-side down onto a piece of parchment paper and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 25-30 min until tender and be pierced easily with a paring knife. The timing can increase if the delicata squash are bigger.

Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 tbsp olive oil to the pan and add half of the mushrooms. Season immediately with salt and cook until each side is seared and golden brown, this takes about 2 minutes per side. Set aside in a bowl and repeat with the remaining mushrooms.

In the same skillet add remaining olive oil and sautee chopped onion and garlic for 2 minutes over medium heat, or until softened. Add in ground veal and 1/2 tsp salt. Break up with a wooden spoon and cook for 5 minutes until browned, stirring constantly.

Add in bone broth, dill and cooked mushrooms. Bring up to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix cream together with lemon juice and corn starch and stream it into the meat mixture slowly while stirring the meat. Allow to simmer until thickened.

Remove squash from oven and turn cut side up onto the baking tray. Carefully pour over meat sauce into the crevasse of the squash and broil on low in the oven for an additional 5 minutes if desired.