Colcannon soup

How time flies! I suddenly realised it’s St Patrick’s Day tomorrow, which means it’s a year since I did my Irish themed supper club. It really doesn’t seem that long ago! The evening was a great success, with a buzzing atmosphere and with no leftovers, which is always a good thing.

One of the dishes served that night was Colcannon soup. Now, for those of you with any Irish blood, you know that traditionally this is a side dish of potatoes and cabbage with lashings of butter and seasoning. But it also translates into a might tasty and luxurious soup that is easy to make plant based and also seriously green!

This recipe uses not one, but two types of greens – cabbage and kale – to up the flavour and nutrient content. Kale is a fabulous veg, packed full of vitamin A and C, both fantastic antioxidants, as well as vitamin K, which is getting a lot of interest in the health world at the minute. Vitamin K is generally known for being needed for the clotting process and that’s about it. However, science is realising that it’s involved in much more, particularly in regards to it’s relationship with vitamin D, which most of us in the Northern hemispheres are pretty low in! So problems like heart disease, dementia, osteoporosis and even cancer are being connected with poor levels of vitamin K. Green leafy vegetables like kale are really important to include in the diet; it’s no coincidence that the drop in fresh veg intake and the rise in chronic health problems have happened at the same time!

There’s so much to say about kale, and no doubt I’ll be back with more another time, but if you want to find out more check out this article with references to current research http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=38

Off my (green) soapbox, and back to the recipe! This soup is beautifully creamy and rich, even though it is dairy free. It’s the potatoes that create this texture as they become soft and mushy, with the sautéed leeks and garlic providing the richness.

So why not go green tomorrow with this soup and celebrate St Patrick’s Day? And then make it again any time during the year, just because it’s just so delicious and nutritious!

Colcannon soup
1 onion, chopped
1 leek chopped
3 medium potatoes, scrubbed and chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 medium cabbage, chopped
150g kale, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 teaspoons thyme
750ml vegetable stock
salt and pepper
soda bread croutons to serve (optional)

Heat a large pan and add a dash of olive oil or water, then sauté the onion, leek and potatoes for 5 minutes or so until they start to soften. Add a little more water to stop the mix from sticking to the bottom. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Pour over enough stock to cover, pop in the bay leaf and thyme and bring to the boil. Cover and reduce the heat, simmer for another 5 minutes, then add the chopped cabbage and kale and a little more vegetable stock (remember the greens will release water as well). Season well and simmer for another 10 minutes or until all the vegetables are well cooked. Turn off the heat and leave to cool slightly, then pour into a blender or use a stick blender to puree. This soup should be thick and gloopy, but if it’s too thick, add more vegetable stock to get the consistency you want.

Serve hot with soda bread croutons and a glug of flaxseed oil if you so wish. Enjoy!