Yes, here is yet another cauliflower recipe but you won’t believe these aren’t potatoes! I bring you this just in time for St. Patrick’s Day. Colcannon is a traditional Irish dish of mashed potatoes with cabbage or kale. You can serve it with a hearty lamb stew or lamb chop, or just on its own with a big salad.
The idea for this dish came from two blog posts, the first was a recipe for mashed cauliflower “Better than Potatoes” from the blog ibreathe, I’m hungry. That blog is full of ideas for low carb and gluten free meals. Her recipe for creamy mashed cauliflower is the best I’ve found anywhere and a big hit on Pinterest. The second blog post was from Angie at Fiesta Friday. She used mashed potatoes with the addition kale, bacon and brown butter to make her more traditional “Colcannon“. Oh my, did it look delicious!
I thought, what happens when you combine those two fabulous recipes? I tell you, it was amazing. My husband couldn’t believe these were not “real” mashed potatoes, he was completely fooled. I didn’t tell him until after he had eaten two servings, he was amazed.
A few notes about the cauliflower puree, it is extra creamy and rich tasting but you need to be careful to avoid adding any of the tough skin on the stem. Peel the stem if you want to add it before cooking the cauliflower. I don’t recommend using the “riced” cauliflower found in the stores just now. They are great for cauliflower rice but not so good when you want creamy mashed cauliflower. I think they must have a high percentage of the tough stem included. If you think about it, it would make sense as that is the “leftovers” from those packages of florets.
- 1 head of cauliflower
- 2 Tbsp heavy cream
- 1 Tbsp butter – Irish from grass-fed cows if possible
Kerrygold Irish Butter
- 2 ounces Irish dubliner or other sharp cheese –
Dubliner Cheddar
- 4 slices of bacon, cut into 1/4 cubes
- Large handful of baby kale or larger kale leaves, de-stemmed and thinly sliced (you could also used thinly sliced green cabbage)
- salt and pepper to taste
- Clean and trim the cauliflower, breaking it into medium sized pieces. Peel any tough stem. Place in a microwave safe bowl with 2 Tbsp of cream and 1 Tbsp of butter. Microwave, uncovered, on high for six minutes. Stir to coat cauliflower with cream/butter mixture. Microwave for another six minutes on high.
- Meanwhile cut 4 strips of bacon into pieces about 1/4 inch in width. Saute on medium heat until starting to crisp. Drain on paper towels, reserving the bacon fat in a small dish.
- Remove cauliflower from the microwave and put into a high speed blender or food processor along with the cheese. Puree until smooth.
- Add the cauliflower puree to the pan you cooked the bacon in, scraping up any crusty bits. Stir in the bacon and a good sized handful of baby kale or finely sliced larger kale leaves (de-stemmed).
- Stir until the kale or cabbage is wilted.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste. You can adjust the cream and butter to your preference. A little bacon fat is also nice if your Dr. allows it.
This is good without the kale as well. Shred a little extra cheese on top.
Creamy mashed cauliflower with bacon
But especially nice with the addition of kale.
Colcannon with mashed cauliflower
And try a vegetarian version without bacon. It will still be delicious.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone.
Wow!! I thought colcannon was a perfect dish, but you actually improved it! I LOVE it, Liz! And I’ve been using Kerrygold butter, too. So good! 😄
Hi Angie, I love that the butter is from fully grass fed cows…the cheese as well. Your recipe for colcannon looked so good! Thank you for the inspiration.
I’ll have a bowlful minus the bacon please??
It’s good without the bacon as well. Anytime!
This was next on my list of recipes to try using cauliflower. Thanks for sharing Liz and I can’t wait to have an excuse to make it 🙂
Wow, I just love cauliflower “mashed potatoes”, so I know this colcannon is stunning! I just happen to have a cauliflower in the fridge, so guess what I am going to make tonight! I can’t wait! 😀 Thanks, for bringing this to FF this week! 😀
Let me know how you like it, it has replaced mashed potatoes at our house.
Thank you!
Yummy Liz and Happy belated St Paddys Day!
Thank you, same to you.
This looks so good!! I love potatoes and cabbage, but I bet I would love it with cauliflower too. I use Kerrygold butter too–I think it makes a difference in baking and cooking.Thank you for sharing this recipe!
I agree with you, it is great butter. The cheese is good as well.
Beautiful Liz… I think I’ll be making this pretty soon. Love the addition of kale in it too.
Thank you Loretta.
Awesome blog! I so enjoy reading articles like this. Thanks a lot for posting!
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