Meatless in Miami: What Better Day To Eat Green Than St. Patrick’s Day?

Admittedly, “Irish” and “vegan” aren’t two words that you wouldn’t usually put together, but this St. Patty’s day try out a dairy-free-yet-delicious twist on a classic Irish recipe! I promise you won’t even be able to tell the difference.

Colcannon is an ages-old traditional dish (there’s even a folk song about it!) that’s still popular today.  It takes mashed potatoes – one of the finest foods in creation if you ask me – and adds kale to make it green and quasi-healthful (quasi as there’s still a boatload of buttery goodness involved). I discovered this recipe a few months back and as a massive fan of mashed potatoes, it rocked my world  I would happily eat this for the rest of my life instead of normal vegan mashed.

Now, I’ve never been a stickler for exact measuring while cooking so feel free to jiggle the recipe below to suit your tastes. If it’s not buttery enough, you know what to do.

Vegan Colcannon

Ingredients:

1 large bunch of Kale (roughly a pound or one of those big bags they

sell at Publix)

2-4 lbs of potatoes

6 scallions/green onions

1 cup unsweetened soymilk (I find the regular version leaves a taste)

1/2 cup Earth Balance spread

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:

• Wash and remove the large stalks from the kale.  Place it in a covered

  pot with a 1/4 inch of water at the bottom and steam on medium heat

  until the leaves turn bright green, usually around 5-7 minutes

• In a large pot cover the washed and quartered potatoes (I prefer to

  keep the skins on but feel free to remove them) with water and boil

  until a sharp knife can glide through the potato chunks with ease.  

• Drain the potatoes and return them to the pot over low heat.  Add the

  soymilk and Earth Balance and mash away!  If it needs more liquid, add

  soymilk by the tablespoon until you get the consistency you desire.

• Slice the scallions and add them and the drained, cooked kale to the

  potatoes and re-mash until it’s all green and buttery.  Add salt and

  pepper to taste.

• To serve, make a little “moat” in your pile of Colcannon and add a fat

  pat of Earth Balance.

• Dance a jig and enjoy!

Variations:

• As seen in my picture, I used cabbage instead of kale.  The name is

  actually from “cal ceann fhionn” which means white-headed cabbage.  I

  sliced half a head into thin strips and steamed it until it was soft.

  (Still, NO thanks to the two different Publixes I went to that didn’t

  have a single leaf of kale between them. It’s a staple people, stock

  up!)

• Add lightly sauteed leeks instead of green onions.

• Throw in a small handful of chopped parsley.

• Add chopped garlic to your heart’s content.