Irish Potatoes: Colcannon

There are many variations to this recipe. Some people use savoy cabbage (it has wrinkled leaves), others use kale; further still, some include leeks and some use bacon mixed into the main dish. Others use crumbled bacon as a topping, and cheese is another topping used by some, as is a fried or poached egg (I kept the egg to the side, see photo below). Traditionally the dish has a lot of butter, but I hope the Irish forgive me, because I replaced half of the butter with olive oil. "Colcannon" also has milk, but some use cream. 

Ingredients (about 4 to 6 servings):

2 pounds white or Russet potatoes, peeled and diced (large dice)
2 1/2 cups chopped or shredded green cabbage (it will cook down substantially)
1/2 cup chopped green onions (also called spring onions or scallions, and use the green part)
3 tablespoons of butter (but more for serving)
3 tablespoons olive oil (not extra virgin olive oil)
1/2 cup warm milk (I use canned/evaporated milk, you may need more milk)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt

Boil the potatoes in salted water until tender. While the potatoes are cooking, in a skillet, melt the butter and mix in the olive oil. Add the cabbage and green onions and cook over low heat until tender. Add the salt and pepper. The cabbage and onion mixture may get lightly browned, but remember, this is supposed to provide some green to the dish, although I must admit, I've seen colcannon with browned cabbage and onions. Drain the potatoes well and mash the potatoes with a potato masher, gradually adding a little warm milk as you go (potatoes can vary, so you may need more milk). Fold the cabbage/onion mixture into the mashed potatoes (this is why you needn't add butter to the potatoes as you mash them). With each serving, use a spoon to make a small indentation in the top and add a piece of butter.

Some have an egg with these potatoes, which is what I chose to do, along with a piece of toast...

WORD HISTORY:
Bog-This word is distantly related to the various forms of "bow": with the form that rhymes with "how," and meaning, "to bend the body," as well as to the noun for that verb; also the same pronunciation of "bow" for the noun meaning "the front of a ship;" and the form with a long "o," meaning "to curve," as a verb, and meaning "a weapon that shoots arrows," as a noun. These are all from Germanic and their relationship to "bog" is through Indo European. "Bog" goes back to Indo European "bheugh," which meant, "to bend." This gave Old Celtic the adjective "buggo," which meant, "easily bent, flexible, soft." This passed to Old Irish as "bog," meaning, "soft, soft from moisture." This then produced the Irish and Scots Gaelic noun "bogach," meaning, "marshy land" (thus, 'a bog'). English borrowed the word in the early 14th Century. The verb, often used with "down" ("bog down"), and meaning, "become stuck in the soft ground of a bog," developed in about 1600.