Roasted Cabbage Colcannon

A nod to my Irish ancestors

Roasted cabbage goes with everything.

I usually make colcannon around Saint Patrick's Day. It’s mainly because the most interesting part of any holiday for me is the food, but this annual celebration does remind me that I have Irish roots. My grandfather on my father’s side came to the United States from Ireland.  He died when I was a baby, so I never knew him. But I have the hand-carved walking stick he brought here from County Mayo.

It came into my possession after my father moved into a nursing home following his stroke in December 2018. But I only really took ownership of it when he died four years later, in December 2022. This walking stick, my father’s oddly numerous knives, and my affinity for potatoes are the only things that connect me now to my tenuous Irish heritage. 

But somehow, since my Dad died, I feel more Irish. I think it’s because, in death, my father transitioned from living relative to ancestor, joining my grandfather and many generations of Irish folks before him.

When I watched the movie The Banshees of Inisherin, I noticed some words and phrases my father had used, like “feck” instead of another F word. As a kid, I thought he said “feck” as a way to avoid using bad language around children. Now, I think he might have said it because his father did.

If my father had any fecking idea what colcannon was, he never mentioned it. His mother wasn’t a big cook, and he definitely did not cook much. He did his grocery shopping at CVS. If you asked me to name five dishes that typify classic Irish cooking, I could not. I learned about colcannon on the internet—definitely not from family.

Traditionally, it’s made with cabbage or kale, and the greens are either boiled separately or cooked in whatever dairy you use to mash the potatoes. Because I love roasted cabbage with its crispy bits and caramelized edges, I decided my twist on this classic would be a roasted cabbage colcannon. I served it with Field Roast sausage and it was a pretty easy and very satisfying Saint Patrick’s week dinner.

Let me know if you make it.

Have you missed my horrible photos?

Roasted Cabbage Colcannon

Serves 2-4

For the cabbage:

1 pound green cabbage, roughly chopped into 1- to 2-inch pieces (about half a cabbage)

2 teaspoons olive oil

¼ teaspoon salt

For the potatoes:

1½ pounds gold potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces

3 green onions, minced

1 garlic clove, minced or pushed through a press

¾ cup non-dairy milk or cream (I used ½ cup cashew cream and ¼ cup oat milk)

1 teaspoon nutritional yeast

½ teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Vegan butter, to taste (if desired) 

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees with the rack positioned in the lower third of the oven. In a large mixing bowl, toss the cabbage with the oil and salt. Spread in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet and roast until dark brown and charred in spots, about 18 to 20 minutes. Give it a stir after 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, add the potatoes to a large pot of salted water. Bring to a boil, and cook the potatoes until tender, about 12 to 14 minutes. Drain and return to the pot. Add the green onions and garlic clove and start mashing. (The heat will take the raw edge out of the alliums.) Add the non-dairy milk, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper. Keep mashing until reasonably smooth. Some lumps are OK—this isn’t fancy food. 

Fold the cabbage into the potatoes. If you want, add a tablespoon or two of vegan butter. I didn’t because I am really watching the grams of saturated fat in my diet right now, but I will recommend it anyway. Colcannon is a buttery dish.