If you’re not familiar with Colcannon, you are in for a treat!

Colcannon is a traditional Irish dish of mashed potato combined with shredded cabbage.

It takes mash to a new level.

And this Low Carb version does the same.

You get all the creamy goodness with a texture and flavour boost courtesy of the cabbage.

I’ve also seen Colcannon recipes using shredded kale. I’m not sure how traditional that is but I went with kale here because, hey I love kale.

And the kale adds some lovely green colour.

I’ve served it here with fried eggs for a quick mid-week dinner.

But it’s absolutely incredible with any slow cooked dishes. We had it with Osso Buco on the weekend. And I’m dying to try is with these Lamb Shanks.

Enough for: 2
Takes: 20 minutes
Net Carbs: 28g/serve
1/2 medium cauliflower (approx 500g / 1lb)
100g (3.5oz) roast cashews
60g (2oz) salted butter
small bunch kale (200g / 7oz), shredded
2-4 fried eggs or other protein, to serve

1. Bring 1cm salted water to the boil in a medium saucepan. Chop cauli into bite sized chunks. Add cauli and cashews to the boiling water. Cover and boil for 10 minutes or until cauli is tender.

2. Drain cauli and cashews. If you like you can save the cooking water to drink or use as a veg stock. Return cauli and cashews to the pot (without the water). Add butter and puree with a stick blender. If it’s too thick add a little reserved water to thin.

3. Stir through shredded kale. Taste and season with salt as needed. Serve with fried eggs on top (or your preferred protein).

WINE MATCH: A big buttery Chardonnay.

Variations & Substitutions

Keto / ultra low carb – skip the cashews and replace with extra butter. Will reduce the carb content to 12g/serve.

dairy-free – add some coconut cream instead of the butter. Extra virgin olive oil will work too.

different nuts – you could add almond meal when you puree instead of the cashews. Macadamias would work as well. Both of these are significantly lower carb than the cashews. But I do love cashews.

nut-free – replace cashews with extra butter. If you want a richer result you could add a few egg yolks or some grated parmesan.

more substantial (carb lovers) – serve with crusty bread OR replace some of all of the cauli with potatoes (steam potatoes until tender and mash with a potato masher or potato ricer instead of using the stick blender – blending spuds makes them gluey).

more substantial (low carb) – more cashews. More butter. Or serve with a larger serving of protein.

Low FODMAP – sorry cashews and cauli are high FODMAP. You’ll need to use potatoes instead of cauli (see carb lovers note).

different vegetables – celeriac (celery root), potatoes, turnip, swede, rutabaga will all work for the cauli and take longer to cook. Cabbage, collard greens, mustard greens, baby spinach or green onions are good substitutes for the kale.

different protein – Sausages, roast chicken, canned tuna and black olives, pan fried fish, slow cooked meat (see head note for ideas). Lovely with cooked lentils or chickpeas.

soup! Don’t bother straining the cooking water. Add water if needed after pureeing to thin it out. Serve with extra roast cashews and some melted butter and sage leaves. OMG or golden chunks of pan fried halloumi.

Waste Avoidance Strategy

cauli (whole) – will keep in a plastic bag in the fridge for weeks. To keep for longer, chop into florettes and pop in the freezer.

roast cashews – keep them in the pantry.

butter – will keep in the fridge for weeks.

kale – will keep in the fridge in a plastic bag uncooked for at least 2 weeks. Once cooked like this it will keep for a month or so in the fridge. Can be frozen both cooked or raw.

eggs – will keep in the fridge for weeks or use for another meal.

Prepare Ahead

Yes! Just cook as per the recipe but keep the eggs to fry at the last minute. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or can be frozen. To serve, warm in a pan with a little extra butter. If too thick thin with water or milk.