Vegan Colcannon and Whole Wheat Irish Soda Bread

My day has totally taken a turn for the better! First, I had an awesome conversation with an executive at work about starting healthy living initiatives. Then my guest post went up on Julie’s Blog. Then right after I finished making two amazing Irish dishes, I found out I won Terra chips from Sophia! Talk about a lucky duck!

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Since tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day, I felt inclined to make a traditional Irish meal. You do know that people in Ireland eat don’t corned beef and cabbage all the time, right? The foods aren’t unheard of there, but it’s primarily a North American tradition. Ireland actually has a very modern and bustling food scene full of delicious fresh salmon and grass-fed lamb. But Colcannon is a traditional Irish dish of mashed potatoes and cabbage. Often times it is made with butter and ham or bacon, but tonight I gave the dish my own spin.

I used this recipe from VeganYumYum with a few modifications.

Colcannon (adapted from VeganYumYum)

Serves Four as a side dish

4 Cups Chopped Potatoes, I like Yukon Gold (I used one white potato and one sweet potato)
4 Cloves Garlic, minced (optional)
3 Tbs Earth Balance Margarine
4 Cups Chopped Kale (I used a mix of kale and collards)
1 Cup Chopped Seitan
1 tsp Soy Sauce (I used Braggs Liquid Aminos)
1 Tbs Nutritional Yeast (optional)
2-4 Tbs Soy Milk or Soy Creamer, warmed (I used Silk unsweetened soy milk)
3 Sprigs Thyme, leaves leaves only (optional) (Did not use)
Salt and Pepper to taste

First I placed the chopped potatoes in a pot of boiling water while sauteeing the garlic in Earth Balance.

When the garlic was fragrant, I added chopped Kale, Seiten and Braggs Liquid Aminos.

I’d never used Seiten  (say-tahn) before. It’s is derived from the protein portion of wheat and is a good substitute for meat. It comes in slices in a bag with a little bit of liquid and looks spongy.

Anyhoo. When the potatoes were soft, I drained them and then mashed them into the veggie and seiten mixture.

The last step was to add a little bit of soy milk and nutritional yeast. The nooch is optional but adds great flavor and nutrition.

I was thrilled with how creamy this was, even without a lot of butter or cream. The Earth Balance brought out the flavors of the kale and potatoes, and the seiten added a slighty salty and chewy component. I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did, but now I think it’d be a great dish for any night of the week. With protein from the seiten, veggies in the form of kale and collards, complex carbs from the sweet potato, and healthy fats in the Earth Balance this side dish is actually a complete meal!

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The second recipe tonight is Whole Wheat Irish Soda Bread from The Happy Herbivore. This is a super easy bread consisting primarily of four ingredients – flour, buttermilk, baking soda, and salt. Often times a bit of sugar and raisins or currants are added for sweetness. It is said that a cross was carved into the bread to ward off the Devil or let the fairies out of the bread.

Irish Soda Bread from the Happy Herbivore

Servings: 20

Ingredients:

• 2 cups non-dairy milk
• 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp raw sugar (optional)
• 1 cup raisins (optional)

First I had to mix Soy milk with apple cider vinegar and let it sit for 5 minutes. I’d never made vegan buttermilk this way, but sure enough it curdled up!

I combined the rest of the ingredients in a big bowl, then added almost all of the milk mixture to form a wet dough.

With just a small hand mix I was able to form the dough into a ball and used a knife to make my X.

This went into the oven at 425 for 35 minutes and came out with a crusty outside and doughy sweet inside.

I’m so excited to bring this to work tomorrow! I love exposing my co-workers to delicious vegan eats.

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My own dinner tonight consisted of half of the Colcannon, a small side salad, and a little slice of soda bread. I had to try it and was not disappointed. It was the perfect light sweetness and would be even better with some Kerry Gold butter – right Heather?

I hope some of you can try these dishes as part of your celebration tomorrow! I was finished cooking both and cleaning the kitchen in less than one hour! A seasonal, quick, healthy meal is a winner in my book!

HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY EVE!