For dinner the other night I had 4 medium potatoes, ½ a spring pointed cabbage and a couple of shallots hanging around the kitchen which need to be used. I nipped to the shops and got myself a small fillet of pork to go with them as pork goes so well with cabbage and potatoes. You can see them married together in many northern European dishes.
Potatoes and cabbage don’t sound the most exciting ingredients, so I decided to jazz it up by making the Irish classic Colcannon! This is an excellent way of making these basic food stuffs into something absolutely delicious! I used pretty much a 70/30 split of potatoes and cabbage.
First I cooked the cabbage “al dente” and immediately put it into cold water to stop the cooking process. Don’t worry abut the cabbage being cold, as you can make it in advance or even use cooked leftover cabbage.
Next I lightly fried the shallots until soft and had a little colour, I know that leek or spring onion is more traditional but as I mentioned I was using up things that were in the kitchen.
Then the potatoes were boiled up and when cooked strained and mashed. A good hit of salt and pepper to taste, some butter or good quality rapeseed oil (I find this an excellent and healthier replacement to butter) and milk. After mashing I whipped it with a fork. The mash was now smooth, creamy and rich. The well drained cabbage and the shallots were then stirred in. I added a little fresh chopped parsley as well, but don’t worry if you don’t have it, it can be left out but the fresh flavour does add depth to the dish.
There you have it, Colcannon, and there was more than enough for two. Just warm it up on the hob on a low heat and stir it enough so that it doesn’t “catch” on the bottom of the pan. Although it doesn’t matter if it does a little, because the next day I made some fantastic bubble and squeak with it!
So to the pork fillet
This was just for my dinner so my small piece was approximately 250g or ½ lb, greedy I know ;). First I seasoned the pork with salt and pepper, and heated some good rapeseed oil in a hot pan. Then I seared the meat for a minute or two on each side to seal it, hold in the moisture and give it some colour. Then I added a good knob of butter and 5 big sage leaves from the garden, then transferred it straight into an oven at 180C. 15 minutes later I took it out to rest as I warmed the Colcannon.
Serve with some of the sage butter drizzled over the meat
Dinner is ready, simple! It doesn’t take much inspiration to make a fantastic, delicious meal from leftovers. Just by adding something new like the pork, it makes for a dinner which will impress and yet be cheap and easy. You could for example use a chicken breast in place of the pork using exactly the same technique.
With meat always remember to follow recommended cooking times from the packet or your butcher.
Do you have any leftover cooking tips?
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I love bubble and squeak but never seem to have enough leftovers for it usually… 😉
@sarupashah Always a problem when you have made great food to start with 🙂
My gran loves bubble and squeak with a fried egg. Personally I’d rather she had it than me 🙂 (I think I’m giving the impression that I’m a fussy eater here). Our family has made it with a variety of green veggie left overs so it’s nice to see a proper recipe for it.