Traditional Irish food uses potatoes in a variety of dishes. One popular way to serve potatoes is mashed with cooked cabbage or kale in it. Colcannon (literally ‘white-headed cabbage’) is made with mashed potatoes, butter, milk, and cabbage. And sometimes a few add-ins. Ever since a family trip to Ireland in 2000, colcannon has been a staple of our St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.

But this year, I’m taking it up a notch and turning the traditional colcannon into a twice-baked potato. The potatoes are first baked, then the flesh is scooped out and mashed. The potato shells are filled with a mixture of the mashed potatoes, along with sauteed cabbage and green onions, to which milk, butter, sharp cheddar cheese, and a bit of dried mustard powder is added. They are heavenly and worth every bit of the time required to put them together!

Twice-Baked Colcannon Potatoes (adapted from thekitchn.com) Total Time Required: 1-1/2 hours, Prep Time: 20 minutes, Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes, Yield: 4 main dish servings or 8 side dish servings

Ingredients:

• 4 large russet potatoes (about 8 ounces each)
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1-1/4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
• 1/2 small savoy (or green) cabbage (about 12 ounces or 3 cups)
• 4 medium scallions
• 4 ounces (~1 cup) sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon dried mustard powder
• 1 bay leaf
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and place a piece of aluminum foil in the bottom of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400º F.

Wash the potatoes. Prick them all over with a fork. Rub each potato with 1/2 teaspoon olive oil and then season each with 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt. Place the potatoes directly on the oven rack with the aluminum foil below them to catch any drippings. Bake the potatoes, turning them over halfway through the baking time, until they are cooked through, about 50 to 60 minutes total.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Cut the core from the cabbage and finely chop the leaves. Thinly slice the scallions, keeping the white and light green parts separate from the dark green parts. Grate the cheddar cheese on the large holes of a grater.

Cut 4 tablespoons of the butter into 8 pieces and place them in the freezer. Add 2 tablespoons of the butter to a medium frying pan, and let the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter sit at room temperature.

Melt the butter in the frying pan over medium heat. Add the cabbage, the white and light green parts of the scallions, and 1/4 teaspoon of the kosher salt to the pan. Cook, stirring frequently, until the cabbage begins to brown and wilt, about 5 to 6 minutes.

Add the dark green scallion parts, the milk, dried mustard powder, and bay leaf to the pan. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Cover the pan, reduce the heat to low, and cook until the cabbage is fall-apart tender, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let it sit covered to keep the mixture warm.

When the potatoes are ready, halve them lengthwise. Scrape out the potato flesh from all the halves with a spoon and place it in a medium bowl, leaving a 1/4-inch-thick shell around the bottom and sides. Place the potato shells on the baking sheet skin-side down and put the sheet in the oven while finishing the filling.

Pass the potato flesh through a potato ricer or a food mill into a large bowl. (Alternately, mash very well with a potato masher.) Add the room temperature butter to the potatoes and stir to combine.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cabbage and scallions to the bowl of potatoes and discard the bay leaf. Stir to combine. Gradually stir in some of remaining milk from the saucepan until the mash is silky-smooth and at the desired consistency.

Add the grated cheese and stir to combine. Taste and season the mixture with kosher salt and black pepper as needed. Remove the potato shells from the oven.

Spoon the potato mixture into them, packing it in and mounding it high.

Plunge 1/2 tablespoon of the frozen butter into the center of each stuffed potato, leaving the top of the butter exposed. Bake the stuffed potatoes at 400º F, until the edges are browned and the filling is heated through, about 20 minutes.

To make ahead: Cool the filled but unbaked stuffed potatoes completely. Refrigerate them in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Bake them at 375ºF for 40 to 50 minutes. Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Bia maith!  ~Linda

Twice-Baked Colcannon Potatoes (adapted from thekitchn.com) Total Time Required: 1-1/2 hours, Prep Time: 20 minutes, Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes, Yield: 4 main dish servings or 8 side dish servings

Ingredients:

• 4 large russet potatoes (about 8 ounces each)
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1-1/4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
• 1/2 small savoy (or green) cabbage (about 12 ounces or 3 cups)
• 4 medium scallions
• 4 ounces (~1 cup) sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon dried mustard powder
• 1 bay leaf
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and place a piece of aluminum foil in the bottom of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400º F.

Wash the potatoes. Prick them all over with a fork. Rub each potato with 1/2 teaspoon olive oil and then season each with 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt. Place the potatoes directly on the oven rack with the aluminum foil below them to catch any drippings. Bake the potatoes, turning them over halfway through the baking time, until the are cooked through, about 50 to 60 minutes total.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Cut the core from the cabbage and finely chop the leaves. Thinly slice the scallions, keeping the white and light green parts separate from the dark green parts. Grate the cheddar cheese on the large holes of a grater.

Cut 4 tablespoons of the butter into 8 pieces and place them in the freezer. Add 2 tablespoons of the butter to a medium frying pan, and let the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter sit at room temperature.

Melt the butter in the frying pan over medium heat. Add the cabbage, the white and light green parts of the scallions, and 1/4 teaspoon of the kosher salt to the pan. Cook, stirring frequently, until the cabbage begins to brown and wilt, about 5 to 6 minutes.

Add the dark green scallion parts, the milk, dried mustard powder, and bay leaf to the pan. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Cover the pan, reduce the heat to low, and cook until the cabbage is fall-apart tender, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let it sit covered to keep the mixture warm.

When the potatoes are ready, halve them lengthwise. Scrape out the potato flesh from all the halves with a spoon and place it in a medium bowl, leaving a 1/4-inch-thick shell around the bottom and sides. Place the potato shells on the baking sheet skin-side down and put the sheet in the oven while finishing the filling.

Pass the potato flesh through a potato ricer or a food mill into a large bowl. (Alternately, mash very well with a potato masher.) Add the 2 tablespoons of room temperature butter to the potatoes and stir to combine. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cabbage and scallions to the bowl of potatoes and discard the bay leaf. Stir to combine. Gradually stir in some of remaining milk from the saucepan until the mash is silky-smooth and at the desired consistency.

Add the grated cheese and stir to combine. Taste and season the mixture with kosher salt and black pepper as needed. Remove the potato shells from the oven. Spoon the potato mixture into them, packing it in and mounding it high. Plunge 1/2 tablespoon of the frozen butter into the center of each stuffed potato, leaving the top of the butter exposed.

Bake the stuffed potatoes at 400º F, until the edges are browned and the filling is heated through, about 20 minutes.

To make ahead: Cool the filled but unbaked stuffed potatoes completely. Refrigerate them in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Bake them at 375ºF for 40 to 50 minutes. Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days.