An old Irish dish to Appalachian tastes: Kalecannon with smoked ham [View all]

I spotted this recipe in the Irish Times and it sounds as if it could have been served right off an Appalachian table. The original recipe called for cabbage but this version substitutes that for the Appalachian staple, kale. The full (and simple) recipe can be found at the link provided below.

http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/food-and-drink/give-me-five-kalecannon-with-smoked-ham-1.1973080
The Irish Times
Give Me Five: Kalecannon with smoked ham
Trick or treat? This dish is definitely the former
Fri, Oct 31, 2014

Kale is the wonder vegetable we all know we should be eating more of. But instead of feeling guilty and skulking past it in the vegetable aisle, grab a bunch confidently and rush home to make this delicious dish.

It is rich in calcium, vitamins and folate and is easy to prepare and cook. I’m amazed that my children eat kale chips, and I was delighted at their reaction to this week’s recipe, a creamy mash rippled with buttery kale, leeks and smoked ham: perfect for Halloween.

The traditional colcannon uses cabbage and is a real comfort food from my childhood. I recently learned that it’s also an old Irish tradition to hide a ring and a thimble in the green-flecked mash come Halloween night. My mother never risked doing this as we ate the dish at such speed she was afraid the hidden treats would go unnoticed.

My great grandmother used to make a huge pot of cabbage boiled in bacon water on Sunday mornings, and, after Mass, the village would gather outside her house and stand around eating the cabbage from saucers while gossiping about the week. It shows how important food is for bringing people together. Even when people had nothing they still shared it, and in those days it led to a healthier community in rural Ireland. It may also have been the first of the impromptu pop-up supper clubs; news of a flash mob demanding salty cabbage on mismatched china saucers wouldn’t look out of place on my Twitter feed.... MORE at link provided above