Adam Liaw's kale, sweet potato and brown butter colcannon

June 6, 2022

Kale, sweet potato and brown butter colcannon.William Meppem

easyTime:1-2 hoursServes:6-8

Rather than mashing the potato and sweet potato together, I like to keep them a bit separate – it gives the dish more character. And just like mashed potato, the secret to top colcannon is lots of good-quality butter.

Ingredients

1kg potatoes, unpeeled
2 large sweet potatoes
75g butter
4 spring onions, sliced
1 bunch cavalo nero or kale, leaves stripped from stalks
salt, to season
1 cup milk or pouring cream
½ cup flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
black pepper, to season

Method

1. Heat your oven to 160C fan-forced (180C conventional) and roast the potatoes and sweet potatoes for 1 hour.
2. While the potatoes are roasting, heat a large frying pan and add a third of the butter. Add the spring onions and cavalo nero or kale leaves and stir until they wilt. Season well with salt.
3. Scoop the flesh from the hot potatoes (but not the sweet potatoes) and pass through a potato ricer into a large pot. Add the milk or cream and half the remaining butter and beat to a smooth mash. Stir the vegetables and parsley through the mashed potatoes until well combined and season with salt. Roughly mash the sweet potatoes with a fork. Add the sweet potato to the mashed potato and combine gently to give the mixture a mottled effect rather than being completely blended.
4. Place the colcannon in a serving dish. Heat the remaining butter in a small frying pan until it browns to a hazelnut colour. Pour the brown butter over the colcannon, season well with salt and black pepper, and serve.
Also try Adam Liaw's lamb shoulder with rosemary and stout