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Irish Colcannon Soup is a hearty version of a classic Irish recipe. Made with potatoes, cabbage, onions, cream and butter, this piping hot soup will keep your insides warm and your spirits high this Winter.
This soup is a manifestation of my Ireland withdrawals. Symptoms include buying a 50 lb bag of potatoes, cooking Irish food, listening to Irish music as well as the RTE Ireland podcast. There is only one cure that I know of. I must go back. I may have left Ireland, but Ireland did not leave me.
The memories of the bucolic farms dotted with sheep will always be in my heart. The little villages where the ranchers live are like quaint pockets of Irish beauty. When you visit Ireland, the beauty and history will settle in your bones so that when you close your eyes at night, you will be transported back to that special place.
We should all go to Ireland. It’s really easy, especially if you already have a passport. If you don’t have one yet, shame on ye. For tips on how to travel to and around Ireland, check out my article on Planning a Trip to Ireland and start planning. A journey of a thousand miles… begins now.
Find out more about what you will find in an Irish Pantry.
why i love this soup
It’s the potatoes. I’m a raving fan. There is not a potato dish that I don’t like. Buying a 50 lb bag of potatoes when it’s just me and my husband was not daunting.
This simple soup is easy to make and allows the ingredients to really shine through. There aren’t any heavy spices or overpowering ingredients that cover up the simple beauty of potatoes, onions, cabbage and butter.
This lovely soup only requires the most basic of cooking skills. Chop veggies and stir a pot. I used an immersion blender at the end, the most technical skill that is needed.
Winters here in Utah are long and sometimes harsh. There is definitely a lot of snow and cloudy skies. Savory soups simmering away on the stove is always a welcome sight for me. The coziness of a steamy bowl of hearty soup is somehow very comforting here. I am definitely on team soup six months out of the year.
When our lovely daughter visits from Texas, we usually go skiing. The adventures on the slopes followed by a hearty bowl of soup is something that we treasure. Of course there’s hot chocolate too. I have many fond memories of skiing and soup with this kid. What are some of your favorite soup memories?
What is the Difference Between Colcannon & Champ?
Colcannon uses cabbage instead of scallions. Champ uses scallions. It you love mashed potatoes, you are going to love both Colcannon and Champ. They are the next level mashed potatoes.
What Do You Eat With Colcannon?
Savory sausage known as bangersare traditionally served with colcannon. Another great entree to eat with Colcannon is Beef and Guinness Pie, a rich and meaty savory pie that goes great with a side of potatoes.
Step-by-Step
Add butter and onions to soup pot. Cook over medium heat until soft.
Add cabbage and cook until wilted.
Add potatoes, broth and black pepper. Simmer for 20 minutes.
Process with immersion blender. Add milk. Bring to a simmer and serve with crusty bread.
What people are saying about this recipe
“We all loved this. I did sauté the cabbage in butter and I would add even more cabbage next time. Delicious!
-Shelly
“I used about 1/2 a head of cabbage and added garlic to the potatoes. So tasty!!!
-Jenna
“That’s how my Irish grandma feed me. Everything in one bowl. Miss you grandma ☘
-Diane
“This is so yummy! I love this with ham, pork chops, for breaky too.”
-Carla
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If you are making your own broth, you will need to check out this post on How to Make Broth. It also gives you clues as to when homemade broth is a must or if you can get away with store bought broth.
Irish Colcannon Soup Recipe
Yield: 6 Bowls
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour5 minutes
Irish Colcannon Soup is a hearty version of a classic Irish recipe. Made with potatoes, cabbage, onions, cream and butter, this piping hot soup will keep your insides warm and your spirits high this Winter.
Ingredients
3 Tbs salted butter
1 large onion, peeled & diced (2 cups)
1/2 lb chopped cabbage
4 medium starchy potatoes (1 1/2 lb) peeled & chopped
5 cups vegetable stock
1 1/2 cups whole milk or half & half
1/4 tsp black pepper
salt to taste
Instructions
In large pot add butter and onions. Cook over medium heat until soft. Add cabbage and cook until cabbage wilts.
Add potatoes, broth & black pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.
With an immersion blender, process soup until thick but slightly chunky. You may use a food processor instead. If you have a small food processor, you may need to do this in batches.
Add milk to pot, bring to simmer and serve with Irish Soda Bread.
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Colcannon is a hearty dish that has been eaten on Halloween night for years. Traditionally, a ring was hidden in the dish, and whoever was to find it would be likely to marry in the upcoming year! Colcannon was even paired with a little poem: Did you ever eat Colcannon, made from lovely pickled cream?
Irish Colcannon Soup is a hearty version of a classic Irish recipe. Made with potatoes, cabbage, onions, cream and butter, this piping hot soup will keep your insides warm and your spirits high this Winter.
This works especially well with soups that contain starchy vegetables such as potatoes, corn, or even beans. Simply take a cup or two of the soup, chunks and all, and puree it until it's creamy and smooth.Return it to the pot and stir. This will thicken your soup and preserve the chunkiness at the same time.
Your potato soup is bland? Try adding a little more salt. That's usually the answer to any issue of blandness, no matter the recipe in question. A basic Appalachian style potato soup uses only a handful of simple ingredients, leaning on milk and water and often bouillon to create the brothy soup base.
Colcannon is a mixture of cooked and shredded cabbage and mashed potatoes. The word colcannon is derived from the Gaelic term cal ceannann, which means "white-headed cabbage" — the vegetable most commonly mixed with potatoes in this dish.
Why were potatoes so important to Ireland? The potato plant was hardy, nutritious, calorie-dense, and easy to grow in Irish soil. By the time of the famine, nearly half of Ireland's population relied almost exclusively on potatoes for their diet, and the other half ate potatoes frequently.
The origins of Irish stew are somewhat shrouded in mystery, but it's believed to have originated in the 17th or 18th century. At that time, the dish was often made by shepherds and rural farmers who had access to only a few ingredients but needed a nourishing meal to sustain them through long days of work.
Irish stew (Irish: Stobhach Gaelach) or Stobhach is a stew native to Ireland that is traditionally made with root vegetables and lamb or mutton, but also commonly with beef. As in all traditional folk dishes, the exact recipe is not consistent from time to time, or place to place.
Add a starchy vegetable like squash, pumpkin, sweet potato or white potato to your soup and let it simmer. The most straightforward way to thicken soup is to puree these vegetables using an immersion blender. But you do not have to do anything to them. Simply add and the starch will cook down to thicken your soup.
Yes.Incredibly effective?You bet. This trick works because the instant mashed potatoes are naturally starchy and therefore are similar in form to other commonly used thickeners, such as cornstarch, only without the clumps.
Cornstarch, or corn flour, can be used to thicken soup through its high starch content. Cornstarch is a great thickener for soup because only a little bit is needed to significantly thicken a soup, and it will not affect the flavor profile of the soup.
Add milk, potatoes, Worcestershire sauce, dry mustard, allspice, celery seed, thyme, seasoning salt, dry white wine, cayenne pepper and chicken granules. Allow to simmer and thicken, stirring frequently, until the potatoes are cooked through, approximately 25 minutes.
Use plenty of cream combined with milk, lots of cheddar cheese, garlic, ground black pepper, salt to taste, creamery butter and parsley. Don't forget the potatoes boiled than baked into the soup.
Perhaps the simplest approach is to flavor your soup with salt throughout the cooking process. Instead of waiting until the end of cooking to realize your soup lacks taste, you can add a bit of salt during each phase of cooking. Doing so will help bring out the flavors of each of the ingredients.
The name comes from the Gaelic phrase “cal ceannan,” which means “white-headed cabbage”. One of the earliest written references to colcannon comes from the diary of William Bulkeley, who wrote on October 31, 1735 while on a visit to Dublin: “Dined at Coz. Wm.
Immus (celery) were grown extensively. Foltchep a kind of onion chive or leek were also grown. Meacan and cerrbacan believed to be carrots and parsnips were also cultivated. A type of wild cabbage and kale were also cultivated.
However, the potato was not a native of Ireland. It had been found by Spanish conquistadors in south America in the 1500s was shipped to Europe, and reached Ireland around 1590. For the next 80 years it was grown in small numbers, mainly in Munster, as a garden crop or stand-by.
Irish culture is steeped in myth, legend, fairytale and folklore. It is not surprising that food and feasts play a central role in many of these tales as Ireland developed primarily as an agricultural society.
Introduction: My name is Mr. See Jast, I am a open, jolly, gorgeous, courageous, inexpensive, friendly, homely person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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