Colcannon

Ingredients

• 1 kg floury potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 300 g kale or green cabbage, tough stems removed, shredded
• 150 ml whole milk, warmed
• 100 g unsalted butter, cut into pieces, warmed to room temperature — plus extra for the well
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter, cold, kept whole for the service well
• 3–4 spring onions (scallions), finely sliced, optional — stirred in raw at the finish
• to taste fine sea salt, used aggressively at every stage

Method

1. 1
   Place the peeled, quartered potatoes in a large pot of cold, generously salted water. Bring to the boil and cook until completely tender throughout — a skewer meets no resistance at the centre. Drain well and allow to steam-dry in the pot for two minutes.
2. 2
   While the potatoes cook, bring a separate pot of salted water to the boil. Add the shredded kale or cabbage and cook for 10–15 minutes until completely soft — not al dente, not bright green, but fully yielded and tender. Reserve the cooking liquid before draining.
3. 3
   Warm the milk and the measured butter together in a small saucepan until the butter melts and the milk steams. Do not allow to boil. Both must be hot when they meet the potato — cold dairy dropped into hot mash requires overworking to incorporate, producing a gluey result.
4. 4
   Pass the drained potatoes through a ricer or mouli back into the warm pot. Pour in the hot milk and butter, beating steadily until fully absorbed. If the mash feels stiff, add reserved kale cooking liquid by the spoonful in place of additional milk — the mineral-sweet liquid tightens cohesion. Season assertively with salt: potato and cabbage are both mild and colcannon without generous salt tastes of nothing. The mash is ready when it is smooth, glossy, and holds a soft peak.
5. 5
   This is where the dish lives or dies. Squeeze the cooked kale or cabbage firmly to remove excess water, then fold it into the hot mash with a wooden spoon in two or three additions. Work it in thoroughly so the green disappears into the potato and no identifiable shred of vegetable remains separate. If spring onions are used, stir them in raw at this moment — they are not cooked. Taste and correct the salt once more.
6. 6
   Spoon the colcannon into a warmed serving bowl or onto warmed plates, shaping it into a mound. Press a serious indentation into the centre with the back of a spoon. Place the cold tablespoon of butter whole into that well and bring immediately to the table. The butter will melt slowly as the diner eats; each forkful is dipped through the pool before it reaches the mouth. The well is structural to the eating experience, not decorative.