St. Patrick’s Low Carb Colcannon

Have you ever heard of Colcannon? Well I had some left over ham and some fresh cauliflower and was searching for some great ideas to use them up. The timing was right, I found a St Patricks Day favorite it’s a mixture of creamy potatoes and usually kale or cabbage. Leave it to the potato-loving Irish to dream up colcannon, spuds mashed with finely chopped cabbage and enriched with lots of cream. There are as many versions of this classic dish as there are Irishmen. The Irish have all sorts of ways of cooking potatoes with fun names like bandy, champ, boxy, pandy, and then colcannon.

They even made a song, about Colcannon, I thought it was kind of fun!

The song “Colcannon”, also called “The Skillet Pot”, is a traditional Irish song that has been recorded by many artists, including Mary Black It begins:

“Did you ever eat Colcannon, made from lovely pickled cream?
With the greens and scallions mingled like a picture in a dream.
Did you ever make a hole on top to hold the melting flake
Of the creamy, flavoured butter that your mother used to make?”

The chorus:

“Yes you did, so you did, so did he and so did I.
And the more I think about it sure the nearer I’m to cry.
Oh, wasn’t it the happy days when troubles we had not,
And our mothers made Colcannon in the little skillet pot.”

Well potatoes are out for us low carbers so let’s use cauliflower in place of the potatoes and stay on track, add a little ham or bacon or corn beef. Hmmmmmm soooo Goooood!

Colcannon

1 medium head of cauliflower

¼ finely shredded cabbage

½ cup butter

4 chopped scallions

2 cups cubed cooked ham

Cut leaves and core out of cauliflower (keep whole), shred the cabbage finely, if you have a steamer put cauliflower on one side and cabbage on the other side. Sprinkle with Herbamare or salt. Steam for 25 minutes. (If you don’t have a steamer, boil your cabbage and cauliflower)

In a pan add butter and scallions, cook until scallions are soft (3 minutes).

Combine steamed cauliflower and butter in a food processor ,blend until you have fluffy cauliflower.

Remove from mixer into a bowl, add cooked cabbage, sprinkle herbamare or salt to taste, add ham.

When ready to serve add a clump of butter in the center.

Makes 6 servings

Yeild: 3.6 net carbs per serving

Stay healthy, live well
Gayle