Ireland
Photo: Alison Cassidy, Public domain, croppedColcannon
cál ceannann
/kɒlˈkænən/kol-KAN-un
No recording by a native speaker yet. Use the spelling above.
No ratings yet. Be the first.
- When
- Lunch & dinnerFestive
- Taste
- SavoryRich
- Made with
- PotatoVegetablesDairy & cheese
History
Colcannon is mashed potato mixed with chopped kale or cabbage and spring onions, enriched with butter and milk. The name comes from the Irish cál ceannann, white-headed cabbage. It was a dish of autumn and especially Halloween, when cooks hid small objects in it, a ring, a coin, a thimble, and the person who found one was told their fortune: marriage, wealth or staying single. A 19th-century folk song asks, "Did you ever eat colcannon, made from lovely pickled cream?" It is still served with boiled ham or bacon. A similar dish, champ, mixes the potato with spring onions only and is more common in the north.
Sources
