Recipe: Kale Colcannon

Ah, the quest for new ways to make greens!  For some reason the Cooking Channel is showing vintage episodes of Tyler's Ultimate. You know, back when the premise of the show was him travelling to see how different "experts" used an ingredient or made a dish.  One episode stuck in my mind: Potatoes.  A woman in Ireland was sharing her recipe for colcannon, a potato dish made with boiled cabbage & ham.  But I don't have cabbage and the farmer's market doesn't have cured ham.


So, I improvised and the recipe below is still 100% delicious if not a bit blasphemous.  I did, however, leave the potatoes unpeeled as I boiled them, which the Irish woman recommends.  Probably something more suited for fall (this is seriously comfort in a bowl), but even my little baby licked his bowl clean.

Kale Colcannon (Serves 2)

3 medium-large potatoes (at least the size of your fist)
1 lb kale, de-stemmed and chopped
4 slices of best-quality bacon, diced
4 scallions, finely chopped
1 tbsp butter
Milk

Directions: 
1. Place potatoes whole in a pot and cover with cold water.  Bring to a boil and cook for 30 minutes or until done.  In the last 15 or so minutes, add the chopped kale & a good pinch of salt to the boiling water & cook until tender.  Drain.
2. In now-empty pot, render fat from bacon & cook until crispy.  Take off heat.
3. Add potatoes (peeled if you like) & kale to bacon.  Mash with potato masher.  Add butter and enough milk to reach desired consistency.  Stir in scallions, adjust seasoning.  Eat.