Happy St. Paddy's Day..the Irish Canadian-ized Version.........

Colcannon Cakes with Pancetta and Stilton

I have followed Jerry's blog Cooking by the Seat of My Pants for some time now and am always impressed by the quality of writing and quantity of information available. He is offering up a great recipe for Colcannon in honour of St. Paddy's Day. Why not celebrate St. Patrick's Day with the traditional green and white? It seems that great minds think alike!! Anyone who is a reader of this blog knows of my obsession with the quintessential Irish food...the POTATO. In honour of St. Patrick's Day I also made Colcannon....but a slightly different version that I could prepare as a meal....no corned beef and cabbage here today...too time consuming. Jerry could take his leftovers, if there are any, and make these patties as well. He is also giving away an iPod Touch on his blog...just because we bloggers ROCK!!!!......so do check it out!!!!

Am I possibly 1/4 Irish with my obsessive compulsion towards the simple potato? Irish peasants subsisted on a diet consisting largely of potatoes. Farmers could grow triple the amount of potatoes as they could grain on the same plot of land. A single acre of potatoes could support a family for a year. About 1/2 of Irelands' population depended on potatoes for subsistence.

During the summer of 1845 (and no I wasn't born yet...wink...wink...), a "blight of unusual character" devastated Ireland's potato crop, the basic staple in the Irish diet. A few days after potatoes were dug from the ground, they began to turn into a slimy, decaying, blackish mass caused by a fungus. Over the next ten years, more than 750,000 Irish died and another 2 million left their homeland for Great Britain, Canada, and the United States. Within five years, the Irish population was reduced by a quarter.

Colcannon is a traditional Irish recipe closely related to the British "Bubble and Squeak". There are probably almost as many recipes for traditional colcannon as there are cooks in Ireland.

This colcannon recipe is perfect as an everyday side-dish, lunch or breakfast with eggs or butter beans. It is perfect just the way it is before you make it into patties as well, slathered with a little butter. Since I live in Canada I made a Canadian-ized version of this recipe using Balderson's Extra-Aged Cheddar and bacon....threw in a few chives for an extra splash of green as well. Perfect with a pint of Guinness...but not for breakfast...unless of course you REALLY want to.

**Colcannon Cakes with Pancetta and Stilton**

1kg floury potatoes, such as Maris Piper or King Edward (4 - 5 medium)
50g butter
1 small onion, very finely chopped
Few fresh thyme leaves, plus extra to garnish
225g savoy cabbage, leaves torn (or 2 cups shredded green cabbage)
Splash of double cream
150g thinly sliced pancetta (my veggie friends feel free to leave this behind)
Vegetable oil, for shallow frying
Plain flour, for dusting
125g Stilton, cut into 4 slices (in this case I used white Cheddar)

Cut the potatoes into even pieces and cook in a pan of boiling water for 15-20 minutes, until tender. Drain well, return to the pan and put back over the heat for 30 seconds, shaking occasionally, to drive off the excess moisture. Set aside.

Meanwhile, melt half the butter in a pan and fry the onion and thyme gently for 6-8 minutes. Add the cabbage and saute for 2 minutes; and a good splash of water, cover, and cook for 10 minutes, until wilted and softened. Drain and stir the cabbage into the potatoes, with the remaining butter and cream.
Mash well, divide into 4 and shape into large potato cakes. Put on a baking tray and chill for 30 minutes.

Heat a frying pan and fry the pancetta briefly on each side until crisp. Set aside.

Heat a little oil in the pan, dust the cakes with a little flour and fry for 4-5 minutes each side, until just turning golden and crisp. Top each cake with a slice of Stilton. Transfer to a plate and top with pancetta and a few extra sprigs of fresh thyme.

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