By Jim Romanoff

For The Associated Press



It’s one thing to leave love to chance, but good health?

Luckily, digging into a plate of colcannon — a traditional Irish mixture of mashed potatoes, butter, cream, onions, and kale or cabbage — may serve as good insurance for both.

Once believed to hold the power to divine whether a woman was about to receive a marriage proposal, colcannon can also be a delicious and nutritious comfort food when done with an eye toward health.

Colcannon most often is made with cabbage and traditionally is cooked with plenty of butter, cream and even bacon drippings. It’s delicious, but high in saturated fats. Too many versions also favor a lopsided balance of potatoes to vegetables.

For a healthier take on colcannon, start by going with dark green kale rather than cabbage, and use it at a higher ratio than the potatoes.

Kale packs more nutrients per calorie than potatoes, among many other foods.

In fact, one cup of kale has just 36 calories and contains 192 percent of the recommended daily intake of vitamin A. It also is an excellent source of fiber and vitamins C and K.

For this recipe, the greens are sauteed in a small amount of butter, rather than the more traditional boiling, which can leach nutrients from the kale.

This version of colcannon also calls for red potatoes with the skin on, which adds color as well as nutrients and fiber.

And they are mashed with low-fat milk rather than cream or bacon fat.

To make up for the flavor of the missing fat, a tablespoon of Dijon mustard is added to the kale mixture at the last minute. It adds a pleasant sharp taste and enhances the earthy flavors of the greens.

To make this simple and speedy dish even easier, check your grocer for conveniently bagged chopped and washed kale.

Add a few grilled chicken sausages or roasted pork tenderloin and you have a complete healthy, balanced meal.

Or if you’re single and curious about the future of your love life, you could do as young Irish women traditionally did at Halloween — hide charms in the colcannon.

Girls lucky enough to find one in their portion took it as a sign of a coming proposal.

Another option — fill your sock with a spoonful of colcannon and hang it from the handle of your front door. The belief was that the first man to walk through the door would become the woman’s future husband.



COLCANNON

(Start to finish: 45 minutes)

11/2 pounds small red potatoes, halved

1 tablespoon butter

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 to 11/2 pounds kale, stems removed, coarsely chopped (about 16 to 18 cups)

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup low-fat milk

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Place the potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, cover and cook until tender, about 12 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large Dutch oven over medium heat melt the butter.

Add the onions and cook, stirring often, until translucent, about 2 minutes.

Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Add kale and water, cover and cook for 3 minutes.

Remove the lid and stir thoroughly. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the kale is tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

Once the potatoes have cooked, drain them and return them to the pan. Add milk and coarsely mash. Cover and set aside.

Stir the mustard into the kale and remove from the heat. Add the mashed potatoes, salt and pepper and mix well.

Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition information per 1-cup serving: 162 cal., 3 g total fat, 6 mg chol., 6 g pro., 30 g carbo., 4 g fiber, 275 mg sodium





Potatoes by any other name

The Associated Press



Colcannon is a traditional Irish mashed-potato dish which may include scallion or onion, and cabbage or kale. But don’t think that’s it for quaint regional names describing variations of potato dishes.

Colcannon’s cousins in other countries in the British Isles sport fun names including:

• Clapshot. This is Scotland’s version; it omits scallion and adds mashed rutabagas; chives or bacon fat may also be added.

• Kailkenny is found in the Scottish Highlands; it adds cream to colcannon.

• Rumbledethumps, from the Scottish Borders, features equal parts potatoes and cabbage that are thumped (mashed) then rumbled (mixed) with pepper and butter, topped with cheese, and broiled until brown.

• Punchnep. In Wales, this is a combination of mashed turnips and potatoes, heaped into a mound and studded with hollows, which are filled with cream.

Source: U.S. Potato Board