Colcannon Puffs

by on March 15, 2009
FavoriteLoadingAdd to Recipe Box

Colcannon PuffsWith St. Patrick’s Day just around the corner, tonight I couldn’t resist making one more Irish-themed recipe. I had a bunch of kale in the fridge that I needed to use up, so my thoughts immediately went to colcannon, the traditional Irish dish of mashed potatoes and cabbage or kale. Then a conversation about potato pancakes got me thinking of the ones my mother used to make with leftover potatoes, and soon I was contemplating colcannon pancakes.

Sometime between cooking the potatoes and adding the seasonings I decided to try baking the colcannon in small balls. My theory was that my daughter would be more likely to eat a small green ball than a large green patty, a theory that was validated when she saw the potato-kale mixture and declared that I had just ruined a perfectly good batch of mashed potatoes. Fortunately, she was still willing to give the cooked puffs a try, and after eating all three of the ones on her plate, she announced that they were better than they looked. I’ll take that as a compliment.

Tender on the inside, lightly crispy on the outside, these deliciously seasoned puffs may have your kids eating kale, too!

Colcannon Puffs

Colcannon Puffs
(printer-friendly version)

To save time, you can also form these into larger patties and pan-fry in a non-stick skillet.

1 1/2 pounds potatoes (you can peel if you want, but I didn’t)
6 ounces kale
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons salt (or to taste)
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons soymilk
2 tablespoons potato starch or corn starch

Cut the potatoes into small cubes (about 1/2-inch), put them in a large pot, and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are tender.

While the potatoes are cooking, remove the center stalk from the kale and slice the leaves into strips. When the potatoes are done, lift them out with a slotted spoon and place in a large mixing bowl. Put the kale into the potato water and cook for 6 minutes or until kale is tender. Remove kale with a slotted spoon to a food processor. Add 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid and pulse to chop fine.

Preheat oven to 425 F. Mash the potatoes and add the kale and all remaining ingredients. Stir well. Using a well-rounded tablespoon, form into balls about 1 inch across. Place them on an oiled baking sheet or, preferably, a baking sheet covered with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Bake for 20 minutes. Carefully turn over and bake fore 20 minutes more, until lightly browned.

Makes about 30 puffs or 6 servings. Per serving: 128 Calories (kcal); trace Total Fat; (3% calories from fat); 5g Protein; 28g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 733mg Sodium; 3g Fiber. Weight Watchers: 2 Points.

Colcannon Puffs

I served these with baked tofu with a basic gravy and broccoli. The puffs tasted delicious with a little gravy, too.

For more of my St. Patrick’s Day ideas, check out these recipes:

And here are a few from some other fabulous blogs:

Stay In The Loop!

Be notified when there are new recipes by subscribing to RSS or Email Updates.

Leave a Comment

Thanks for visiting my site! All comments are read and appreciated, and if you have a question, I will try to respond within a couple days. Note: If you are leaving a comment for the first time, it will be held for moderation. Be patient and it will appear as soon as I have a chance to approve it.

Want to have your photo alongside your comment? Sign up for a Gravatar!

{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Anonymous November 12, 2009 at 5:58 pm

I found this site using [url=http://google.com]google.com[/url] And i want to thank you for your work. You have done really very good site. Great work, great site! Thank you!

Sorry for offtopic

Reply

2 Paula January 19, 2010 at 7:25 pm

finally finally made this. o m'gosh … soooo good … my beau concurs … and ya know what else … this is a double for a knish recipe! I'm going to try with kasha, brocolli, mushroom. thanks Susan. :)

Reply

3 Alyssa Willis March 8, 2010 at 10:04 pm

Do you think I could make these ahead of time…like a 12 hours to a day? and store it in the fridge?
Thanks!
Alyssa

Reply

4 SusanV March 8, 2010 at 10:16 pm

Alyssa, these should be fine if made ahead. Enjoy!

Reply

5 Lea March 15, 2010 at 9:01 am

Hmmm….I tried to make these last night and something didn't work! I used yukon gold taters and must have mashed them a little too much – my kale/potato mixture was really wet. I decided to make patties and fry them – and then the turned into oily green potato chip looking things! Oh well, live and learn!

Reply

6 lovemyfamily March 25, 2010 at 10:14 am

I wish more people would come and review the dishes you make after they try them…so that we can get tips and tricks that will help us in cooking. For this one it was very wet and just a word of advise for anyone the extra water that gets mixed in with the potatoes and the kale will be plenty if not too much water, don't add more water until after you have mixed everything together, if it is even needed. I also think this may have been better cooked at 350 for 23 minutes or so cause the outside was cooked but the middle was like a mashed potato. overall they were great and I do appreciate your blog so much it really helps me, so I hope none of this is taken as the wrong way.

Reply

7 A.S. Timmons July 17, 2010 at 12:59 am

First, let me extend my compliments to your website!! I really enjoy reading your articles and flipping through your intriguing and delicious looking recipes. I have many saved, ready to try.

I tried this recipe and they turned out very different than the recipe here. They turned out hollow…like true “puffs”….they were really good and the flavor was delicious. I agree to leave out the water. I think mine turned out hollow and puffy because I mixed the potatoes in my kitchenaid (with the whipping attachment) with the kale (which blended the kale up with the potatoes nicely) since my food processor has recently given up the ghost.

I will be trying many more of your recipes and leaving feedback on them. Thanks for such a great resource.

Blessings.

My husband like them very much

Reply

8 Kaitlyn January 24, 2011 at 7:09 pm

Absolutely wonderful! I don’t have nutritional yeast but this was magnificent without! Even my carnirvore husband loved them and asked for me to make a huge batch and freeze them just to have on hand! Thank you so much for such a wonderful recipe!

Reply

9 Jessica March 13, 2011 at 8:53 pm

Made this tonight to kick off our “Irish Week” celebration! Was a HUGE hit with my mostly non-vegan family, and I will definitely make this again. I agree with a comment below – I’d wait to add extra water. I think the cooked kale held a little water, and the puffs didn’t end up being as puffy as possible. Still AMAZING! My step-dad loved these with mustard and hot sauce, but then again, he likes everything with mustard and hot sauce. :-) Thank you!!!

Reply

10 Leah March 14, 2011 at 12:29 pm

Yum! I just made these. I used half a pound of frozen chopped kale (thrown in with the potatoes for the last minute of their cooking) and did not add any of the potato cooking water (since the kale was already chopped) and they were great. Thanks Susan for another winner!

Reply

11 adrienne December 16, 2011 at 9:34 pm

I shoulda read the darn reviews!!! I have Colcannon PUDDLES!! LOLOL

Reply

{ 2 trackbacks }

Previous post:

Next post: