Sausage and Colcannon Bake – comfort food piled on comfort food. With gravy. Perfect for St Patrick’s Day!
How did it get to Friday and I haven’t posted a recipe this week? Bad planning on my part, but I do have a good excuse: I spent ages writing an income report earlier in the week, and then tried to photograph a Thai chicken and rice one-pot dish I make all the time. The photos were dreadful, so I decided to hold off and reshoot it properly. Sometimes delicious food is hard to make look pretty.
In the meantime, here’s something a little more photogenic but just as comforting: Sausage and Colcannon Bake. Rustic, satisfying and easy to adapt to be gluten free if needed. It’s one of those hearty recipes—alongside shepherd’s pie, Lancashire hotpot and toad in the hole—that everyone clears from the plate. It also sneaks in some greens: kale and spring onions in creamy mash, mushrooms and peas in the gravy, so everyone’s getting something nutritious with their comfort food.
It’s been a hectic week of travel for me—lots of trains rather than planes. I was in Milton Keynes talking to Neff about plans for the year after winning their cookaholics competition last August, and I’m excited about the projects coming up. I also came down to London for the Pinterest UK Food Awards. I was shortlisted for several awards but didn’t win this time; the winners all had amazing photographs and recipes. It was lovely to catch up with blogger friends, share a few drinks and enjoy the evening.
Right—enough chat. Here’s the recipe so you can try it at home.
Sausage and Colcannon Bake Recipe:
Sausage and Colcannon Bake
Ingredients
- 5–6 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
- 80 g (1 1/2 cups) kale, chopped
- 5 spring onions/scallions, chopped
- 60 g (4 tbsp) butter, cubed
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) double (heavy) cream
- 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 8 good-quality pork sausages (use gluten-free sausages if required)
- 1 large onion, peeled and sliced
- 2 tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour (for gluten-free use a good-quality gluten-free plain flour blend)
- 500 ml (about 2 cups) beef stock (water plus two stock cubes is fine)
- 125 g (1 1/2 cups) sliced mushrooms
- 100 g (2/3 cup) fresh or frozen peas
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 bay leaf
- Pinch of salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F (fan).
- Prepare the colcannon: place the potatoes in a pan, cover with cold water, bring to a boil and simmer for about 15 minutes until tender.
- While the potatoes cook, place the kale and spring onions in a small pan with a splash of water, cover and cook on high for 3 minutes until just softened. Drain and set aside.
- Drain the potatoes, then mash with butter, cream, salt and pepper. Stir in the cooked kale and spring onions and set the colcannon aside.
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan and brown the sausages on a high heat. Turn down to medium, remove the sausages and add the sliced onion. Cook the onion for 10–15 minutes, stirring, until browned and caramelized.
- Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Gradually add the beef stock while whisking to form a thickened gravy. Return the sausages to the pan and add mushrooms, peas, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaf and a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir together and transfer the mixture to a baking dish (about 30 x 30 cm).
- Top with the colcannon, ruffle the surface with a fork to encourage crispy browned bits, and bake for 20–25 minutes until bubbling at the edges and beginning to brown on top.
Notes
For a more traditional colcannon, boil the kale and spring onions in whole milk instead of water and use that milk in the mashed potatoes. I prefer to use cream for a richer mash.
Nutritional information is per serving and should be used as an approximation.
Nutrition
Calories: 669 kcal | Carbohydrates: 46 g | Protein: 24 g | Fat: 44 g | Saturated Fat: 21 g | Cholesterol: 113 mg | Sodium: 947 mg | Fiber: 9 g | Sugar: 3 g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and is approximate.
If you try the recipe, please rate it and leave a comment — I love hearing how it turned out and any variations you try. You can also follow me on social media to see what I’m cooking and which recipes I’m loving.
Some links in the original post may have been affiliate links. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on ingredients and portion sizes.