![]() ![]() Thumbnails by Felicity Cloake.īoiling them in their skins, though not mandatory ( Bord Bia, the Irish food board, suggests peeling them), not only improves their flavour, but keeps the potatoes dryer and fluffier, especially if, like Allen and Clodagh McKenna, you tip out most of the water halfway through cooking, so they steam instead. Roosters, which are gaining in popularity here, are the closest substitute.ĭarina Allen says a traditional Dublin version of colcannon swaps some of the spuds for parsnips. ![]() As regular readers will remember from Irish stew at the beginning of the year, varieties such as golden wonder and kerr’s pink are hard to get hold of in many parts of the UK, but having tracked some down in an Irish butchers on the Holloway Road, north London, I can confirm they make lighter, fluffier mash than maris pipers or desirees. But in practice, “old” generally means the very floury sort favoured in Ireland. In theory, that could refer to an all-purpose or floury variety, as opposed to the denser, waxy new potatoes such as jersey royals or charlottes, which are better in salads and for creamy French pomme puree. The potatoesĪllen calls for “old potatoes” in her collection Irish Traditional Cooking. Served with spiced beef or boiled ham, tofu sausages or just on its own with extra butter, I reckon there’s never a bad time for a bowl of buttery mash and greens. ![]() Though particularly associated, in many places, with Halloween – when, like barmbrack, it may be studded with coins, thimbles and other devices to tell your fortune for the year ahead – potatoes, greens and dairy are available all year round, as is colcannon.
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