I love it when the side dish becomes the star of the meal. I am a vegetable lover after all, and could be quite happy if I never ate meat again . . . well, a bit of a lie there because I would miss a good steak every now and again . . . and I do kind of like roast chicken and turkey . . . and a really well done Prime Rib Roast is a magnificent thing to behold and to eat . . . okay . . . I guess it's settled. I just like to eat. But I do have my favorite things and vegetables are one of them!
This Crushed New Potato Colcannon is a delightful side dish! Chock full of lovely savoy cabbage and new potatoes . . . I love new potatoes and they are low GI which is good news!
Then there are the spring onions, which have a nice mild onion flavour, not too harsh . . . goes really well with the cabbage. Savoy cabbage is pretty mild in flavour, and you wouldn't want a really srtrong onion flavor to overtake this dish. You want to be able to taste the cabbage . . . and savoy is such a pretty green.
There's a bit of pancetta in this as well, which imparts a lovely smokiness . . . altogether this is lovely. I served it quite simply with some grilled sausages/bangers . . . and steamed carrots. It went down a real treat.
Of course you could add the butter if you want for even more flavour, but I didn't use it and we didn't really miss it. This was delicious even without it. Life now is about cutting as much fat, sugar, etc. from my diet as I can . . . and hopefully without compromising too much of the flavor. Today I managed that perfectly. Simple ingredients, cooked really well. You can't beat it!
*Crushed New Potato Colcannon*Serves 4Printable Recipe
A healthier version of an old Irish favorite. Delicious
600g new potatoes, unpeeled, washed well and cut in half (1 1/4 pound)400g savoy cabbage, washed, trimmed and coarsely shredded (3/4 pound)2 tsp sunflower oil4 rashers proscuitto, cut into 1/2 inch slices6 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced (scallions)25g butter, cubed (optional I did not add this. 2 TBS)salt and pepper to taste
Put the proscuitto into a large skillet, along with the oil. Cook, until crisp, Scoop out and drain on paper towels. Set the skillet aside for now and reserve the pan drippings.Put the potatoes into a saucepan of lightly salted water. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 18 to 20 minutes until tender. Drain well. Cook the cabbage in boiling water for about 3 minutes, until just tender. Drain well, run under cold water and drain again. Reheat the drippings in the skillet. Add the spring onions to the skillet and soften without colouring. Add the cabbage and heat through. Drop in the potatoes and lightly crush. Stir through the proscuitto and season to taste. If you are using butter, stir it in now. Serve hot.
Calories if using butter: 254Fat: 13.1gSugar: 5.4gProtein: 5.8gCarbs: 31g
Calories without butter: 209Fat: 8.1gCarbs: 31gSugars: 5.4gProtein: 5.8g
This was part of a healthy and delicious meal. I, myself, only had one sausage. We chose grainy Dijon mustard on the side, and no butter on the carrots. I never butter my vegetables anyways, except for on holidays when we have company.