Colcannon

One of the things that I really like about St. Patrick’s Day is not what you might expect. I am not talking about the corned beef here, although I dearly love it, no, I am talking about colcannon. What is colcannon you may ask? It is a delicious cabbage, leek, and potato side dish that, along with the corned beef, covers all of your Saint Patrick’s Day bases. It is simple to prepare, and so good that you will wonder why you haven’t made it in the past.

Colcannon

4 slices bacon, chopped
4 T. butter, divided
1 6-oz. pkg. Melissa’s cleaned and sliced leeks
1 small head Melissa’s organic cabbage
1 1.5-lb. bag Melissa’s Baby Dutch yellow potatoes

In a 12-inch skillet, cook the bacon until done, but not crisp. Add 2 tablespoons of butter and the package of leeks. Continue sautéing, over medium heat, until the leeks are limp. Add cabbage and remaining butter. Continue to cook over medium low heat until cabbage is limp.

While leeks and cabbage are cooking, bring a large saucepan with salted water to a boil over high heat. Add potatoes and cook until fork tender 20 to 25 minutes. Drain potatoes, return to pan, and place pan on top of warm burner with flame turned off to allow steam to evaporate. Mash potatoes the way that you normally would (hand mixer, potato ricer, whisk, you get the picture). Fold ¾ of the leek/cabbage mixture into mashed potatoes, blending thoroughly. Serve immediately, topped with the extra leek and cabbage mixture.

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Leek and Cabbage Pasta with Mushrooms & Bacon

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I was wondering how I could incorporate a little Saint Pat’s into a pasta dish. and here it is. Cabbage and leeks are common ingredients in Irish cooking, so I decided to use both of those as well as mushrooms, and tossed bacon in for good measure because everything is better with bacon. This creamy and delicious pasta dish is light because it gets its creaminess from cream cheese rather than loads of heavy cream. It is satisfying and delicious, gives you one of your daily portions of vegetables, but doesn’t weigh you down. Because there’s no cream to separate in reheating, this can be warmed successfully in the microwave the next day.

Leek and Cabbage Pasta with Mushrooms & Bacon

4 thick-cut bacon slices, chopped
8 oz. uncooked linguine
8 oz. Cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 t. kosher salt
½ t. freshly ground black pepper
2 c. shredded Napa cabbage
2 c. Melissa’s cleaned and sliced leeks
3 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
¼ c. shredded Parmesan cheese 

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain well, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking water.

Meanwhile, while pasta is cooking, in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat, cook bacon, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer bacon with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate; reserve drippings

Add mushrooms to skillet, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Increase heat to medium high and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 8 minutes. Add cabbage and leeks, and cook until they wilt and have begun to caramelize, 5 minutes. Add cream cheese and all of the pasta water, and stir until smooth. Stir in bacon. Carefully stir in cooked pasta and heat through, about 2 minutes.

Serve immediately. Makes two main dish servings or 4 side dish servings.

 

Irish Mash

I don’t know how you make your mashed potatoes, but it used to be that I would make mine by peeling and quartering a bag of russets, boiling them, draining them, and then attacking them with a hand-held electric mixer. I would beat them to within an inch of their lives, funneling in butter and cream in the going. I did it this way because this is the way my mother used to do it. You see, back in the day, it was positively scandalous to have lumps in your mashed potatoes.

These days, I embrace lumps and call them rustic. No more do I want to get out the hand mixer, deal with bits of potato flying all over the kitchen, and then have to scrape it off the wall. Now, I mash them with a potato masher, and beat them as well as I can with a whisk. Someday they’re more rustic than others, depending upon my upper arm strength.

These potatoes, laden with deliciously sweet sautéed leeks and seasoned with a hint of thyme, are the perfect accompaniment to your corned beef dinner. They can be made ahead, scraped into a casserole dish, refrigerated overnight, and reheated the next day. If you have a difficult time getting vegetables into your family, mixing them into mashed potatoes is one sure way. Leeks are not without nutrition. They contain vitamins A, C, E, and B6, as well as calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, and are known for their antioxidant properties as well as being low in calories. Wow! So, stirring them into your potatoes is a healthy, as well as tasty and attractive choice.

Don’t wait until St. Patrick’s Day to enjoy them, they’re good anytime with roast beef, chicken, or fish.

Irish Mash

1/2  3-pound pkg. Melissa’s PeeWee Dutch Yellow Potatoes
1/2  6-oz. pkg. Melissa’s Cleaned and Sliced Leeks*

  2 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste

Rinse potatoes and place into a medium/large saucepan; completely cover with water. Bring to a rolling boil, and cook for 15 minutes until fork tender. Drain and return to pan to allow all moisture to evaporate.

While potatoes are cooking, melt butter in a 9-inch sauté pan. Add leeks and thyme, and sauté until leeks have softened. In a small saucepan, heat milk and cream.

Mash potatoes in any manner you like (I am a big fan of the potato masher/whisk combination), adding milk/cream as you do. Add seasonings and leeks. Stir to combine. Serve immediately.

   *If you are unable to find Melissa’s Cleaned and Sliced Leeks in your local market, use one large leek.

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Lemon Pepper Leeks & Mushrooms

I go green crazy on St. Patrick’s Day, and like my meal to have green in every course from beginning to end. I tend to favor leeks around this time of the year, and if you feel the same, you will love this recipe that can be on the table in 10 to 15 minutes. One of the reasons it’s such an easy dish to prepare is because Melissa‘s Produce has done all of the work for you by cleaning and slicing the leeks. You don’t have to worry about storing unwieldy leeks in your refrigerator, spend time cleaning out the sand and grit, deciding what part of the leek to use, and then spend even more time slicing it; all of that has been done for you. 

This dish is pretty much just dump, sauté, and serve. If you like, you can buy mushrooms that are already sliced and use those to speed things up even further. This is one of those dishes where the flavors are subtle, but unique, and people tend to go back for more. You may want to double the recipe to be on the safe side. Should you have any left over (you won’t), it makes an excellent filling for an omelet.

Lemon Pepper Leeks & Mushrooms

1 6-oz. pkg. Melissa’s Cleaned and Sliced Leeks

2 tablespoon butter

1 clove garlic, minced

4 ounces mushrooms, cubed

2 tablespoons dry white wine

1/8 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes, or to taste

5-6 gratings from Melissa’s Lemon Pepper Grinder

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Melt butter in a 9-inch sauté pan. Add leeks and garlic and sauté until soft.  Add mushrooms, wine, red pepper flakes, and lemon pepper seasoning. Sauté until mushrooms are soft. Finish with lemon juice and salt to taste. Serve immediately. Makes 4 side dish servings.

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Broccoli and Leek Carbonara

This recipe was inspired by one I found in the Ricardo cooking magazine. Readers who are not from Canada, may be unfamiliar with the chef, food writer, and television host, named Ricardo Larrivée from Québec Canada. To me, Ricardo is the Canadian Martha Stewart, except he's male, and has a better magazine. I have long wanted to subscribe to the hard copy of his magazine, Ricardo Cuisine, but a foreign subscription is a bit too pricey for my wallet, so I was happy to be able to subscribe to the digital version, which is where I found the recipe for Broccoli Carbonara that inspired this one.

I tend to make pasta dishes once a week because I find that they are excellent ways in which to deliciously use up small portions of things left in the fridge. In this case, broccoli that remained after making the Crockpot Beef and Broccoli dish was put to use, along with leeks leftover over from the Strata, as well as a tidbit of deli ham. This is a light, delicious dish that makes either two hearty main dish servings, or four side servings. Feel free to swap out or add in any vegetables that are to your liking. I'm going to try this again with leeks, mushrooms, and quartered roasted Brussels sprouts.

Broccoli and Leek Carbonara

1/2 cup minced deli ham
1 1/2 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts only
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 cups medium penne pasta
1 1/2 cups small broccoli florets
2 large eggs
2/3 cups grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

In a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, place the deli ham, leeks, and the garlic, along with the oil and butter. Cook until all ingredients are lightly sautéed, or wilted.

In a large pot of boiling water to which you've added a teaspoon of salt and tablespoon of olive oil, place the penne, and cook at a full boil for nine minutes. At the nine minute point, dump in the broccoli, and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes until the pasta is al denté. At this point use a ladle and ladle out a cup of the pasta water, and then drain the pasta and broccoli.

In a large mixing bowl whisk the eggs until frothy, then whisk in the Parmesan cheese, and very slowly whisk in about 1/2 cup of the reserved cooking water. Add the pasta and broccoli to this mixture and stir to coat. Return this mixture to the large stockpot in which you boiled the pasta, and add the ham/leek/garlic mixture. Warm through over low heat stirring constantly until the egg mixture begins to thicken. If it gets too thick, little by little add in a bit more of the pasta water, stirring constantly. Once it reaches the desired thickness, stir in the parsley and serve.

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Agatha’s Spinach Quiche

I am an M.C. Beaton fan. Beaton (one of the pen names of writer Marion Chesney) is the creator of two fun, diametrically opposed, mystery series, Agatha Raisin, and Hamish MacBeth, both of which I enjoy immensely.

I discovered Agatha Raisin quite by accident. While browsing through a bookstore (remember those?), looking for the latest culinary cozy (a sub-genre that, as a foodie, I have come to embrace), I picked up a book called Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death.  Unbeknownst to me, it was the first in what has turned out to be a long and delightful series. A culinary mystery it was not (Agatha has been referred to as the queen of the microwave), but cozy it was, situated in what surely what must be the coziest place on earth, the English Cotswolds. And while not a culinary cozy, by definition, it was a book that left me hungry for more. Flash forward 22 years and we, at long last, have Agatha on the small screen (in England, anyway) in SkyTV's version of this fun book. While Ashley Jensen is too young, too thin, and too blonde to be the real Agatha, in watching the trailer it appears that she does a rather fine job in the role. 

This quiche in is honor of Agatha and her creator. It is a spinach quiche, like the one in the book, only far less deadly.  I added mushrooms - a dodgy vegetable, perfect for the mystery genre, particularly if you tend to gather your own, as one never really knows about mushrooms, does one?  I also swapped out the usual quiche cheese, Gruyere, for Smoked Gouda because it reminds me more of the cigarette smoking Agatha. The end result was quite delicious and certainly worthy of a win in any village competition.

Agatha’s Spinach Quiche

6 slices bacon

4 large eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cups light cream

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 of a 10-ounce pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed

1 ½-ounce pkg. Melissa’s Dried Wild Porcini mushrooms

1/2 cup thinly sliced leeks (white part only)

2 cups shredded Smoked Gouda Cheese

1 9-inch deep dish pie crust

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Hydrate porcini mushrooms in 2 cups of hot water for 30-45 minutes.  Strain through a wire mesh sieve into which you have placed a double thickness of cheesecloth, or failing that, paper towels.  Save the liquid to use in other recipes, such as this one.  Rough chop porcinis.

While mushrooms are hydrating, place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Remove to a paper towel-covered plate and drain.  Crumble and set aside. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon drippings and sauté the sliced leeks until opaque.  Remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-covered plate and drain.

In a large bowl, whip together eggs, cream, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Stir in bacon, spinach, mushrooms, leeks, and cheese. Place pie crust onto a parchment or Silpat-lined baking sheet (to prevent any drips from burning) and carefully pour mixture into pie crust.

Bake uncovered in the preheated oven 45-55 minutes, or until bubbly and lightly browned.  Remove from oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes before slicing.

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Cheesy Leek and Broccoli Soup

Once the fall arrives, and I get into “soup mode,” there is just no stopping me. I will look for any excuse and any ingredient to make soup. This recipe came as the result of my having a lone leek in the fridge, coupled with my going absolutely crazy at a frozen vegetable sale at the local market. Those 10/$10 deals, particularly where name brand, one-pound packages of frozen vegetables are concerned, are truly my Achilles heel. I think we're pretty much set for the winter now.

Cheesy Leek and Broccoli Soup

1 large leek

5 Tablespoons butter

1/4 cup flour

1 cup whole milk

1 cup heavy cream

2 cups chicken stock, plus more for thinning, if necessary

1 16-ounce package frozen, chopped broccoli

6 baby or 2 large carrots

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 8-ounce package Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Cut carrots into julienne strips; set aside.

Cut dark green end off of leek. Remove the tough outer leaves and split leek down the middle (but not completely through), spread apart and rinse thoroughly to remove all grit. Thinly slice leek into rounds.

In a 10" sauté pan, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium-low heat. Add leek and cook until soft and opaque, but not brown; set aside.

Meanwhile, melt remaining 3 tablespoons of butter over medium heat in a 2-quart pot. Whisk in flour and cook for 3-5 minutes. Slowly add milk and cream, whisking constantly.

Whisk in chicken stock. Bring mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Once simmering, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 20 minutes.

Add reserved carrots and leeks, and add broccoli. Cook for 25 more minutes over medium-low heat.

Add cheese, nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste. Thin with additional stock, if too thick.  Heat through and serve.

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Leek-Stuffed Twice-Baked Potatoes

 There are a lot of people who find potatoes uninteresting. I know this because I happen to live with one of those people. Me?  I love potatoes. My good friend, Betty, considers the lowly potato to be her favorite vegetable. Me too!  Can you think of another vegetable that is so versatile or universally appealing?  It's not Lima beans, I can tell you that. 

Sometimes, though, the cook can get a little bored with making the same baked or mashed potato dish again and again. Enter the genius combination of both of these styles - the twice-baked potato - a pleasing, yet company-worthy side dish. 

Generally, most people tend to bake potatoes, scoop out the hot insides, season with salt and pepper, and maybe a little cheese, whip them up with a little hot milk and butter, fill the empty shells with the whipped mixture and bake again. There is nothing wrong with that. But!  If you want to be a bit more special, then try my leek-stuffed version. It is not overly “leek-y,” it just has the little hint of something delicious that will have your guests wondering what you did, while scraping the skins clean. 

Leek-Stuffed Twice-Baked Potatoes
Serves 4

6 medium russet potatoes
1 large leek
3 tablespoons butter, divided
1/2 cup grated Fontina
1/2 cup whole milk

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Scrub potatoes, prick four or five times with the tines of a fork, and rub with about 1/4 teaspoon of Kosher salt each, if you have Kosher salt. If not, do not bother, they will still be fine. I just find that the addition of Kosher salt, baked into the skin, makes eating the skin much more desirable for those who care to do so. 

Place potatoes directly onto the center rack in the oven and bake for 1 hour. 

Meanwhile, cut the root end off of the leek (set aside for replanting), cut off dark green section, discard in the compost bin (or save for making stock). Then split down the middle and give it a good rinse, looking under folds for dirt, sand, and grit. When leek is thoroughly cleaned, slice it into 1/4"-1/8" slices. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a medium sauté pan, add leeks, and sauté until tender, about 5-7 minutes. Set aside. 

When potatoes are finished baking, remove from oven and allow them to cool for about 15 minutes. Using a sharp knife, slice them in half, lengthwise. Use a rounded spoon to scoop out the soft baked interior, placing it into a medium bowl. When scraping skins, leave about an 1/8" of flesh still adhered to the skin. You want them sturdy enough to hold your whipped potato mixture. After the skins have been removed of their potato, check them over and save the best four. Discard the other two (or use for another purpose).  In order to mound each potato skin high enough, you need extra potato mixture, but not the extra skins. 

In a microwave safe dish, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter along with the milk. Pour this over the potato mixture.  Add grated cheese, and beat with a hand mixer (or vigorously with a whisk) until smooth and creamy. Fold in leeks until fully incorporated. 

Carefully mound potato mixture equally into the four baked potato skins. Sprinkle with paprika. At this point they can be refrigerated (up to 24 hours) until ready for the second baking.

If baking immediately, turn the temperature of your oven down to 350°F, and bake until puffed and slightly golden, about 25-30 minutes. 

Garnish with paprika and fresh chives.

I keep a soil-filled plant pot on the deck for re-planting leeks.  Here are two of them (two shoots are coming up from one base) after four days growth.

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