cabbage and mashed potato colcannon
Wow, I could use a break from this whole "writing a blog post every day thing" already, and its only the 8th. I have a feeling it is going to be a long month. Today I read an interesting article about the growing popularization of vegetables, which are no longer considered second class citizens in a meat eater's world. Between my diet being dictated by my injury and the epic veggie share at the CSA, I've become much less dependent on meat in my own diet, so I found it an interesting read.
In fact, the last couple of posts, in conjunction with today's, represent a great meatless dinner I put together for Laura and Nathan back in September. Luscious, tender leeks in vinaigrette, nutty and peppery romesco sauce, and creamy crunchy colcannon potatoes. It was a pan-European meal, what with the French leeks, Mediterranean romesco and Irish cabbage and potatoes. It was also extremely filling and satisfying without any meat or even cheese. If I had thickened my mashed potatoes without milk and butter, it would have even been vegan! I know I know, this is scaring me too.
But seriously, what with the horrible state of livestock farming in this country, it's obviously good for each of us to scale our meat intake down a little bit. Feed lots are a huge health problem in our world, not to mention totally disgusting and rife with animal cruelty. I know it's easy to get blindsided by a carnivorous love for meat, but I'm here to tell you that it's possible to cook such delicious food that you won't even miss your daily steak or pork chop. I know Nathan still raves about this meatless meal months later, and if that's not a ringing endorsement, I don't know what is.
I made the colcannon based on this recipe. I had never heard of colcannon, but basically all it is is mashed potatoes mixed with some boiled kale or cabbage , onion and parsley that has been seasoned and dressed with some lemon juice and olive oil. The author used kale, but mentioned that cabbage was also traditional. There was a big head of CSA cabbage in the fridge, so that's what went in. It was a nice variation on plain mashed potatoes and quite delicious.
Irish mashed potatoes
Together with the leeks and romesco sauce, the colcannon made for a very hearty and filling meal. We wanted for nothing. Not even a little meat.
Note: I would have complained more about this meal had I not had meat with lunch. A day without meat is like a day with no sun. But yes it was delicious.
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