RUSTIC POTATO & CABBAGE SOUP

Still on our March Madness, this is a great rustic Irish soup that's easy to do ahead of time. I've made this a bunch of times and still love it. The brown soda bread goes brilliant with this too.
Recipe:
1 medium white onion - sliced
1 garlic clove
1 green cabbage/Savoy cabbage - cored and roughly sliced
1 1/2 lbs. white potatoes (yukon gold) - chopped in small chunks
1 quart (4 cups) vegetable / chicken broth
2 springs of thyme
olive oil
S&P

In medium hot soup pot saute the onions for 3-4 mins in 1 tbsp olive oil. Add in chopped garlic and cabbage. Stir and cover for 8-9 mins. or until cabbage begins to soften. You don't want too much color on the onions as they'll give the soup a dark color when finished. Once softened add chopped potatoes and thyme and mix everything together for about 2 minutes. Add 2 cups broth, bring to a boil and reduce to simmer for about 20 mins. approx or until potatoes are cooked. Once ready begin to blend in batches. DON'T OVER-FILL THE BLENDER AS HOT LIQUID EXPANDS. IT WON'T BE PRETTY! Add 2 more cups broth to batches while blending. Return blended soup to clean pot, taste and season.

To see my video on making this soup visit my online cooking show on youtube.

POTATO WEEK--COLCANNON

Colcannon (Irish: cál ceannan - white head) is an Irish favorite.

Colcannon is an Irish dish that is rich in tradition and history. Traditionally it's made on All Saints Day or Halloween, though it's a perfect food to warm you up on cold nights. Back in the day, some families would leave out a plate of it, with a lump of butter in the center for the fairies and the ghosts. Another old Irish Halloween tradition was to serve colcannon with prizes of small coins concealed in it. Traditional charms were put in the colcannon that symbolized different things. A button meant you would remain a bachelor and a thimble meant you would remain a spinster for the coming year. A ring meant you would get married and a coin meant you would come into wealth. Start your own traditions--Gather the family together and make this simple, but fun recipe for dinner!

The typical version is mashed potatoes with curly kale or cabbage, butter, cream, salt and pepper. At one time this was a cheap, year-round staple food. The 'healthified' version by yours truly is as follows:

1/2 head of savoy cabbage (green cabbage), sliced

1 1/2 lbs of Yukon Gold potatoes (white potatoes)

3/4 cup Skim milk (preferrably organic)

1 clove garlic, whole

1 tbsp fresh thyme - chopped

2 tbsp. olive oil

1/4 tsp salt, plus another 1/8 tsp salt

Pepper to taste.

Begin by peeling and boiling the potatoes in salted water (1/4 tbsp) 'til done. Saute the sliced cabbage in olive oil on medium heat with the thyme. Cover and cook 'til soft. In a medium sized sauce pan, heat milk and garlic clove on low-med flame, bring to a simmer. DO NOT BOIL. Drain potatoes when cooked until soft. Remove garlic from milk and add milk to potatoes. Mash it all together. When cabbage is cooked, fold into potatoes. You don't want to mash the cabbage along with the potatoes. Taste and season with salt (1/8 tsp or as much to your liking) & pepper.

This is great served with lamb or steak. In fact even a bowl by itself is great.

PARSNIP & POTATO PANCAKES

PARSNIP & POTATO PANCAKES

Recipe
3 cups yams or sweet potatoes, grated
3 cups parsnips, grated
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tbsp thyme
2 eggs, beaten
2 tbsp. olive oil
S&P to taste

Servings: 10-12 individual pancakes

In a large bowl combine potatoes, parsnips, green onions, flour, thyme and beaten eggs. Season with S&P. Toss with your hands making sure the egg is blended well and evenly distributed in the vegetables. Preheat a skillet or saute pan on med. heat with 1 1/2 tbsp. of olive oil. Add the mixture in individual pancake size portions, patting down to make even. Brown for 3-4 minutes. Check to see if crispy, then drizzle olive oil over the top (so it won't stick) before flipping. Turn over and brown other side for another 3-4 minutes. That's it!

NOTE: Make sure your saute pan isn't too hot or the pancakes will brown too quickly and the veg. won't be cooked.

This is a great brunch idea and you'll definitely impress you're friends. It is not only delicious, it makes a great healthy alternative to fried potatoes. Even the little ones will like it because it's sweet and has the name Pancake. You can always trust an Irishman. We think of everything!

FISH 'N' CHIPS

After we got back from Ireland a couple months ago having had our fair share of fish 'n' chips, which I love by the way especially after a few beers, I had an idea. I wanted to come up with my healthy and tasty version of this classic. So I did.
When deciding what fish to use always go for a firm variety such as halibut, cod, or sea bass. In terms of the way you cook it, not only do I like the look of grilling but it's obviously the healthiest choice. You can bake it or even fry it if you want. If you choose the latter, I suggest shallow frying instead of deep frying for healthier results and use canola oil instead of vegetable oil in a shallow saute pan.

Grilled Fish'n'Chips:

1 x 4oz Wild Pacific Halibut
1 x medium sweet potato
2 x tbsp. olive oil
1/2 x tsp. garlic-minced
S&P to taste
lemon wedge
Condiments - ketchup, tarter sauce, malt vinegar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Begin by cutting the sweet potato in half lenghtwise and then into quarters. In a bowl toss potatoes with 1 tbsp. olive oil, S&P, garlic and even chili flakes if desired. Once oven is hot bake on middle shelf, approx. 20 minutes or 'til tender. If you're not sure if they're ready, don't be afraid, taste it! Be sure you don't put them on the bottom shelf or it'll burn the underside and be raw inside. Once they're cooking, sear seasoned fish in hot pan 'til golden on both sides, approx. 2-3 mins. This not only gives it a nice look but will help keep the fish moist while it's cooking. Pop it in oven for about 6 mins or until firm to the touch.
Let the fish rest for a minute or so when it comes out so all the juices won't run out of it when you cut into it. You can serve this as is or have some broccoli or green beans with it, it's up to your inner chef. Of course if you just want a snack or have some friends coming over, make a batch of the fries and dig in! I think this is about as easy as it gets when it comes to cooking. Simple, fresh, delicious and healthy!

Spuds and lots of them!

Surprise, surprise an Irish guy talking about potatoes. Who'd have thought?
I was at the Santa Monica Farmers market yesterday and met a friend of mine, Denis who works for Weiser Farms. They produce some great sustainable root vegetables, potatoes, carrots, onions.
They have about 10 different varieties all of which have distinct qualities. If you're looking for a mashing potato for instance, the German Butterball is the best along with the French fingerling. A lot of the fingerling varieties are great for roasting as you can roast them whole and they look and taste great. The fingerling potatoes are generally more expensive though, as they have to be hand picked. Check out the Purple Peruvian fingerling and the All Blue for something a little different. Although not related they're similar in color and texture and look great. Sometimes when I do buffets I roast a few different varieties of fingerlings which look brilliant together. I like to keep it simple, especially with great ingredients, just olive oil, S&P and garlic and they're delicious.
The great thing about going to these farmers markets is that the vendors love to talk about their products and it's a great place to learn and see new varieties.
At least we don't have to worry about parking!