Laptop Lunches #279

A fruit salad of strawberries, kiwi, and blackberries; lightly seasoned steamed carrots; veganized colcannon (recipe below), and vegan corned beef.

I don't know what provoked me to cook up this Irish feast, but it was lovely comfort food. It was also my first effort at do-it-yourself seitan (which is basically what the vegan corned beef is). I think I could stand to learn to knead it better, and it is entirely possible I cooked it too long, but aside from that this was like some kind of revelation. The taste was a heady sense memory.

I looked at lots of recipes for colcannon before coming up with this one, which is probably most similar to this not-vegan version.

Veganized Colcannon
Serves 4-6

1 small head green cabbage, shredded (I had a pretty small head of cabbage--about 4 cups of shredded cabbage)
4 medium potatoes, peeled (I used Eastern potatoes)
1 cup unsweetened soy milk
1/2 cup chopped scallions
Salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons vegan butter, such as Earth Balance

Put cabbage with 2 cups of water and a pinch of salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and cook uncovered until tender. Drain, but save the liquid; set the cabbage aside and cover to keep warm.

Cut the potatoes into even pieces (about 8 pieces per potato) and put in the saucepan with the cabbage water. Add water just to cover the potatoes and another pinch of salt. Bring to boil; reduce heat to maintain a gentle boil and cook uncovered until potatoes are very tender. Drain potatoes and place in a large bowl. Mash with a potato masher, then set aside, covered, to keep warm.

Add the soy milk and the scallions to the saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour the milk and scallion liquid over the potatoes. Add cabbage, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Mix well.

Melt the butter in the saucepan, then pour over the potatoes. Taste and adjust seasonings.