Colcannon With Crispy Leeks Recipe (2024)

Traditionally this is made with just cabbage and potatoes if colcannon, although kale is also used. Champ is made with potatoes and scallions. Usually white pepper is used to season it, not black pepper. Use real butter.

I've made this using Yukon Gold potatoes, boiled then sauteed-shredded cabbage in a combo of oil & butter, chopped cooked ham and scallions. Of course, I added warm milk and butter to make the potatoes smooth. Altogether a wonderful dish. (But anytime mashed potatoes are involved, it's wonderful).

Thank you so much for including all the possible "aliums of choice" here. I rarely have leeks, or shallots, or scallions for that matter, on hand, but my kitchen without even a single onion would be almost impossible to consider! Yes, I know that there are differences in the final results but, for most recipes, the substitutions among these are not a problem. I am saddened when I see comments from people who aren't trying a recipe because they don't have exactly the "right" one of these.

Slice or grate your greens (preferably cabbage for "real" colcannon) and pack lightly or tighly into a four cup measure. You can decide whether you want less or more of this ingredient. Thanks to Melissa Clark for her realistic measure here. Not the inexact "one medium head of cabbage" nor the overly precise "12 1/2 ounces sliced cabbage." These recipes will always be ready for the cook to choose final amounts. If you end up with only 3 1/2 cups or have an exttra half cup of cabbage, don' worry.

I have made my mom's version of colcannon since I was able to cook. Ours was never finished until a bunch of crispy bacon pieces was fried up and added in. We would simmer the potatoes and cabbage together with water or broth until very tender, then mash with butter & milk and stir in the bacon. Back in the day mom was a widow with 4 hungry kids who worked outside the home. This was quick, delicious & filling. I don't know if she did, but instead of butter I use the bacon drippings when mashing.

Personally, I think this is a stupid measurement. No one buys a quart of fresh greens. The question is, how packed should the greens be? Loosely packed? Firmly packed? You will get differing amounts. Come on, NYT...use ounces.

A quart is 4 cups.

Nice sized bunch of broccoli rabe for greens component was great partner for garlic, olive oil and German Butterball potatoes (from local farmer as 'tis the season here) in this mash and just harvested onions were allium choice. This recipe was originally created as a way to cook tasty meals from our pantries during the midst of pandemic lockdowns. It creates a good dish now too when things are a tad more opened up. Cooking keeps me sane. Thanks to Melissa Clark for her recipes for all times

I recommend caramelizing onions instead of frying leeks! So so good - planning on using the leftovers as pierogi filling :)

I, for one, am happy that we have some St. Patrick's Day celebrations that don't focus on green beer and drunkenness. Potatoes are so central to the Irish culture. I'll never forget dinner at a relative's home in the West Cork town of Bantry one spring many years ago. Our visit coincided with the first of the season's "new potatoes" and our hosts' simple joy at being able to share this treat with us Yanks became on of my favorite memories of that trip. I'll be making this colcannon tonight!

I have to say, this is a beautifully written recipe. It allows for flexibility and gives generously. It reads as if written by and for cooks and chefs in that it gives instruction while also avoids devolving into overcomplicated explanatory notes on execution. In other words, it knows we know how to cook and it gives the framework for creation. Kudos Ms Clark.

This is an amalgam of colcannon and champ. Colcannon doesn’t need exact measurements. It was meant to clean up the potatoes and greens leftover from a previous dinner. Much like the English bubble and squeak. I have very fond memories of “me Ma” simmering milk, butter and scallions as the taties boiled. It was a favorite in the family and still is many years later.

A bag of frozen vegetables can give you a physical idea of quantity, fyi...and is an easy substitute too.

"2 quarts of sliced sturdy greens"? Doesn't it make more sense to indicate the measurement in cups?

My friend Kenny who makes a mean Colcannon adds chunks of ham to his recipe, which really pays off in extra flavor.

I made this according to the recipe. I used half a head of cabbage plus a bunch of lacinato kale for the greens. I added some green onions too, because I had some on hand. And of course lots of Kerry Gold butter! I used chicken stock, not milk. I think this is my new comfort food! So delicious! Thank you for the recipe.

This came out so much better than I thought it would be. I used red potatoes, cabbage and leek; I doubled the garlic and added a can of sweet baby green peas at the very end. A lovely dinner all by itself.

2 leek whites and 1head of cabbage. I didn't remove leek whites before adding cabbage. I saved the leek greens, slice thinly, soften them in butter and olive oil on medium for ~15 min before adding the juice from 1 lemon. After letting the juice reduce for a couple of mins, I added some spinach and let it wilt and cook down for a min or two. I added the leek, lemon, spinach mix to the mashed potato, leek, cabbage. The added acidity rounded the dish out great. The fried egg was a happy companion!

I made this with russets, curly kale and a good amount of shallots. Added a little coastal cheddar at the end. Delicious!

I also used unpeeled local gold potatoes

This was incredible. Thank you.

Why do you feel the need for exact measure of the greens? More or less to your taste or what you have (a bunch or less than a bunch does not matter). This is not baking.

Try adding stinging nettles, if you have the pesty, but delicious weed. Be sure to wear gloves to pick and clean. Remove stems. Leaves are very tender and only need to be added to potatoes for a few minutes to wilt. Stinging quality goes away when cooked. Add broth and/or milk and blend leftovers for wonderful creamy soup or make leftovers into patties—roll in flour, and fry in butter or oil.

I made this with red cabbage and parsnips instead of leeks. It turned out purple! I think of it as Mardis Gras Colcannon.

This is DELICIOUS. My only change was to use much more heated chicken broth to get a proper, not dry, consistency. This is, to me, the ultimate comfort food.

I had a medium turnip from a vegetable coop I didn't know what to do with and I've been eating more plant based meals, so this seemd to fit the bill. I used the turnip, a large potato, and small head of cabbage with a mix of leeks and onions. I added two more cloves of garlic (total of 4), a shake of Trader Joe's 21 spice salute , salt, pepper thyme, butter and almonds-cashew milk to the potatoes-turnip mash. . Heaven! This is an easy, savory and hearty winter meal on its own.

I followed the recipe pretty closely on this. I didn’t have leaks, and since I had made colcannon before with cabbage, and had that that’s what I used! I Pretty much everything else went according to plan. The major difference for me was that I was cooking the dish for someone who couldn’t consume dairy products. I used ghee in place of butter. That’s been a really interesting cooking experience overall. I will admit, that I much prefer a little bit of cream and nice globs of butter on the top!

I've been making Colcanon every Halloween since we watched Jim Sheridan's In America in 2002. This is the first time I tried a twist on the standard potatoes, kale, butter and milk. My note: I love the addition of crispy leeks, but you must mash the potatoes BEFORE you add them to the greens. If you wait until after you add them, it's twice as hard and half as successful. Mashing them then adding them in will enable you to achieve a better texture with less hassle and mess.

Easily veganized with plant-based butter and cream, which made it very tasty. Also added vegetable broth and a bunch of parsley. Served with vegan sausages.

I’ve made this a couple of times, substituting various kinds of onions without any adverse affect. I once used buttermilk instead of whole milk and thought it actually a bit better.