COLCANNON (Mashed potatoes with Kale and Green Onions)

I wanted to make something interesting for St Patrick's Day so  I googled Irish dishes and decided on this one.  Surprisingly even the picky men liked it and didn’t think the kale was too strong at all.  It was festive eating green potatoes and even better that we all enjoyed them.  I think everyone had seconds of them.  So if you want to get some of the super food kale into your diet but aren’t wild about it, definitely try these taters.  It is traditional to serve them warm with a good dollop of butter in the middle so as people serve themselves they can get a little of the melted butter with their serving. 

6 large “Irish” potatoes

6 green onions, diced + 2 more diced for garnish
1 leek, white and light green part only, diced
½ c. whole milk or cream
1 bunch kale, stems removed then diced
1 stick butter +a good dollop for garnish, room temperature
1-2 TB fresh parsley, diced
Salt and pepper to taste

Peel and dice the potatoes into medium size chunks and boil in salted water until very tender; drain well. 

While the potatoes are boiling bring the green onions, leek and kale to boil in salted water.  Boil about 5 minutes and then drain well.  Put them in a blender with ½ stick of butter and puree them.

Mash the potatoes with ½ stick butter.  Stir in the kale puree mixture and continue to mash.  Add the cream or milk and season with salt and pepper.  Stir well and put in a serving bowl.  Put the dollop of butter in the middle and sprinkle the extra green onions and parsley over the top of the dish.