Creating again in time for St. Pat's Day

I've had a short hiatus because I wasn't doing any recipe creation that was noteworthy for a few weeks. I experimented with some new recipes from the New York Times that turned out to be fantastic, the Hungarian casserole rakott krumpli and vegan enchiladas (but used a canned sauce I like, so can't comment on whether this chef's enchilada sauce is good). I did some home versions of recipes I liked from work. But nothing that I could call my own and write up here.

For St. Patrick's Day, I wanted to bring home some of the excitement that was going on in the kitchen at work as our chef and baker turned out Irish-inspired dishes for the holiday: soda bread, potato and mushroom soup with cabbage, and the most decadent colcannon ever topped with sausages. And cheese. That colcannon was delicious, but had crazy amounts of cream and meat. Waaaaay too rich for me to eat more than one bite.

So, it was back to the drawing board at home, going for something a little more in the traditional meatless variety of colcannon. I won't claim that this is a low-fat dish. In fact, if I were to make it again next year, I'd probably go whole hog and use more cream and (maybe) less butter.

Colcannon with Kale
serves 4 to 6
serve as a main dish with other brightly colored vegetables, as a side to a soup or Irish stew, as a colorful topping to a shepherd's pie

2 pounds red potatoes
2 medium-sized onions
1 pound bunch of kale
8 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup milk (dairy milk or unsweetened soy/almond/rice milk)
dash of mace
white pepper and salt to taste

Scrub potatoes well and cut into large chunks. Peeling is optional. Place in large pot, cover with water, and boil until tender (approximately 20 to 30 minutes). Wash the kale and strip the leaves off the tough stems. Cut the kale into ribbons or other small shapes. Saute the onions in 4 Tbsp of butter until tender, then add the kale and saute for 5 to 10 minutes until tender. When the potatoes are ready, drain them and let them dry a little in the colander or in the pot. Warm the milk, then mash together the potatoes with the milk, 4 Tbsp butter, mace, pepper and salt. Stir in the kale/onion mixture and serve hot.

The leftovers of this dish taste great browned in a pan as hash the next day.