Nettle and kale colcannon cakes with sorrel mayonnaise

Colcannon is a traditional Irish dish made of buttery mashed potatoes with cabbage or kale stirred through, though there is lots of evidence for it often being made with nettles instead in the not-so-distant past - a great way to use these abundant and very nutritious wild greens. You can serve this dish as mash but I particularly like to make it into patties and fry them until slightly crispy on the outside. They are great served with crispy bacon and/or a fried egg on top.

The sorrel mayonnaise is optional but if you have never made homemade mayonnaise before I urge you to try. As long as you add the oil slowly and keep whisking it’s not so difficult to make and is a real game changer. The flavour of homemade mayo is incomparable to the shop bought stuff. We’ve added chopped sorrel but you can keep it plain or add another soft, leafy herb.

Serves 4 for a main dish or makes 40 smaller cakes to serve as canapes.

For the potato cakes:

100g nettle tops and/or kale leaves
500g cooked potatoes, mashed with 25g butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
6 spring onions, finely chopped
50g parmesan or another Italian hard cheese, grated
2 tsp caraway seeds (optional)
30-50g plain flour (it just depends on how wet the potatoes are so add slowly). You can use gluten free flour if desired.
Salt & white pepper
Sunflower oil for frying

For the sorrel mayonnaise:

2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons lemon juice or white wine vinegar
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon Dijon Mustard
225ml oil – 175ml sunflower plus 50ml olive oil
5 medium sized sorrel leaves (about a tablespoon once chopped)

Method:

1. Put a pan of water on the hob to boil and then wearing rubber gloves wash the nettles and remove any thick stems. Wash the kale and remove the thick rib stems. Roughly chop the kale leaves.

2. Once the water is boiling add a little salt and throw in the nettles and kale. Bring the water back to the boil and cook for two minutes. Drain the greens using a sieve or colander and leave to cool a little. When they are cool enough to handle squeeze out the water, I find pressing a spoon against the nettles in the sieve works well, and then roughly chop. The sting of the nettles is completely removed when they are cooked so you can safely handle them.

3. Put the mashed potato in a bowl and add the egg, mix well. Then mix in the chopped greens, grated cheese, spring onions, caraway seeds and salt and pepper. Finally gently mix in the flour. Have a little taste and check if you need more seasoning.

4. Flour your hands and make the mixture into 4 cakes, shaped like burger patties. Or alternatively make them into 40 mini cakes. Set them on a floured surface.

5. To make the mayonnaise put the egg yolks, lemon juice (or vinegar), mustard and salt in a bowl. Whisk together. Very slowly drip in oil to the egg yolk mix while vigorously whisking. It can be helpful to have another person to slowly drip the oil into the egg mixture as you whisk. The key to making mayonnaise it to not add the oil too quickly as it will split. Once the mixture thickens up you can add the oil a little more quickly, but still be cautious. If the mayonnaise does split all is not lost, put another egg yolk in separate bowl and whisk in the split mixture a teaspoon at a time. You can also make this in a food processor or a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, you still need to add the oil slowly. Once all the oil is added stir through the chopped sorrel.

6. Heat the rapeseed oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Once hot add the potato cakes and fry for a couple of minutes on each side, until golden and hot through. Serve with a dollop of sorrel mayonnaise and perhaps a poached or fried egg on top.