Day 328: Potato, Cabbage & Rapini Colcannon ♥

The classic Irish potato dish, with cabbage and broccoli rabe added to lower the carbs and amp up the flavor.

Y'know those wintry days when even the dog steps outside, squats quickly and 180s back inside? That's today.

So when the supper plan required a trip to the grocery for no more than Parmesan, it was scrapped for another day. The feed-an-army-of-leprechauns fridge and freezer yielded a backup: grilled sausage with colcannon, the traditional Irish mashed potato and cabbage which has been top-o'-mind since seeing Albion Cooks' version with kale just a few days ago.

Tonight's used broccoli rabe (aka rapini) and made for delicious winter fare for weather-bound leprechauns, dogs and humans.

BROCCOLI RABE, ALL MONTH LONG It's March and we're cooking broccoli rabe all month! And YOU are invited to join the fun! All month, food bloggers and readers are invited to share their favorite broccoli rabe concoctions, new or archived. There's a running round-up here -- check it out for ideas or bring your own!

NUTRITION NOTES For carb watchers, mixing a smaller portion of high-carb potato with a larger portion of low-carb cabbage is an excellent way to appease a hankering for mashed potatoes without overloading on carbs. This version was 1:2:4 rapini:potato:cabbage. If I hadn't added the cabbage myself, I'd never have known it was there. The calorie/carb differences are amazing. As made, with cabbage and potato, a serving is 73 calories, 9 grams NetCarbs and 1 Weight Watchers point. If it'd been made with ALL potato, a serving would have been 114 calories, 20 grams NetCarbs and 2 Weight Watchers points. WHAT a difference -- especially when there is no taste difference.

RECIPE for POTATO, CABBAGE & RAPINI COLCANNON

Hands-on time: 10 minutes
Time to table: 40 minutes
Serves 6

Salted water to cover

1/2 pound potato, skin on, diced
1 pound cabbage, roughly chopped
1/4 pound broccoli rabe, heavy stems removed, chopped

1 tablespoon sour cream (any liquid would do, including no-fat broth)
1/4 cup half 'n' half
Salt & pepper to taste

Bring the water to boil on MEDIUM HIGH in a pot that can be used for mashing later. Add the potato and cabbage as they're prepped, even before the water boils. Once it boils, reduce the heat to MEDIUM, cover and let simmer for 15 minutes or until both the potatoes and cabbage are soft. Add the broccoli rabe and cook for about 3 minutes, until soft but still bright green. Drain and return to the hot pan. Mash with a hand mixer. Add the sour cream and half 'n' half. Season to taste, serve and enjoy!

NUTRITION ESTIMATE Per Serving: 73 Calories; 2 g Tot Fat; 1 g Sat Fat; 12 g Carb; 3 g Fiber; NetCarb9; 54 mg Calcium; 1 mg Iron; 31 mg Sodium; 5 mg Cholesterol; 3 g Protein; Weight Watchers Old Points 1, PointsPlus 2

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