Irish Broccoli Colcannon

There is holiday food I use to look forward to and though I really don’t practice holiday rituals anymore there are some dishes that I have put in my usual rotation. Why save these wonderful foods for just once or year or even less? I have never celebrated those holidays like Cinco de Mayo and others that others do not apply to me, but I happen to be part Irish so a Saint Patrick’s Day meal was something to look forward to. Irish food is so tasty. The corned beef was always a must with the creamy horseradish sauce and I often made Colcannon. It is generally made with mashed russets, sautéed cabbage, green onion and lots of butter and cream. I hadn’t made Colcannon since giving up cabbage. Cabbage was not only toxic to my “O” blood type, as well as my beloved Brussel sprouts and cauliflower, but Ray Peat says the cruciferous family shuts off the thyroid for a time. He says that though they are not recommended, to be sure to cook them really well before eating them. He does say there is some benefits to broccoli though that make eating them worthwhile. He even suggests drinking the cooking water for it’s high vitamin K1 content. It sounded unappealing, but I tried it and I love it. I put mine in the refrigerator for a half hour or so and give it a pinch of salt and it strangely sweet! Since I don’t eat above ground vegetable much it is a challenge getting my vitamin K1 which my blood type REALLY needs for blood clotting. I usually just boil some kale and drink the water, eat artichokes, microgreen sprouts, sweet potato leaves, fresh nettles and none of these do I eat on a daily basis, and far from it. So I thought I would add broccoli to my vitamin K1 sources. I thought about Colcannon and how I really like broccoli more than I like cabbage and the swap sounded even better. I have made this twice now in the last three weeks and it so good!

To make this peel and boil red potatoes. Typically Colcannon is made with Russet potatoes, but they are starchier potatoes and I tend to avoid starches and grains with a high starch content. The red potatoes have more sugar and a lot less starch. You can really see the difference in the boiling water. I only boil these potatoes until they are still a bit firm, but still tender enough to mash. Boil a couple of cups worth. After the twenty minute boil on medium high heat pour the potatoes through a sieve, dump the water or maybe freeze it for the base of a soup. There must be a lot of sugar and nutrition in this otherwise waste water. I think I am going to take my own advice on this and save mine next time. Add the potatoes back to the pot while waiting for the rest. At the same time cook up a one pound bag of frozen broccoli with the stalks and florets mixed. Cook the broccoli in some filtered water with a lid on it for about 15 minutes.

Strain the broccoli through a sieve, and refrigerate and drink that nutrition packed water later. Drinking it as fresh as possible is tastiest. Add the broccoli to the cooked potatoes and four tablespoons of butter. Preheat the oven to 350-degrees. Butter the bottom and sides of a glass pie dish with a tablespoon of butter. Add two teaspoons of salt to the broccoli and potatoes as well as a good amount of sweet onion chopped, about a third to a half cup worth. Add a quarter cup of whole milk and mash everything with a potato masher, these are good a little chunky rather than mushy. Grate about 6-ounces of SHARP cheddar on a larger course grate and stir half of it into the potato mixture.

Transfer the potato mixture to the buttered glass dish, top with the rest of the SHARP cheddar. Sharp cheddar is a must! Bake this uncovered in the middle rack of the oven for 30 minutes. Let this cool at least 15 minutes before serving. This is so good, and I mean addictingly good, the first day, but the second day is even better!

Here is my email to Ray Peat on March 3, 2022….

Me: “Doesn’t “well cooked vegetables”, like broccoli kill vitamin C?”

Ray Peat: Broccoli, kale, etc. are very rich in vitamin C. Some goes into the water, which should be used.”