Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Whether you’re a big luck o’ the Irish leprechaun or just a fan of fun holidays that encourage one to enjoy drinking and frolicking with friends; this is a recipe that just might make you believe in a pot o’ gold at the end of the rainbow. It’s comforting, easy to scale for a crowd, and delivers a punch of green while holding a mug of Guinness that will make even the most curmudgeonly imbiber shout Slainte!

The sausages are hearty and filling, while the mashed potatoes are fluffy and creamy. The bit of spinach tossed in at the end ensures a well rounded meal that will please the family on a weeknight, or a bunch of hooligans, I mean partiers, on the weekend.

The Guinness gives the sauce a rich flavor, which is perfect for drizzling across the links and creating pools of mashed potatoes to soak it up. Adding spinach, cabbage or kale (cabbage and kale are traditional, but I had spinach on hand), to the taters creates what the Irish call “colcannon” potatoes. A buttery, creamy side with a bit of flair.

Try to find Irish bangers at the store – they are usually made with ground pork, spices and rusk (think bread crumbs) and then squeezed into hog casings. If you can’t find Irish sausages go for a regular plain version – not a maple syrup or hot Italian as the flavors won’t work well together.

Recipe

• 5-6 Irish bangers (usually one packet)
• 1/4 cup of Guinness or dark beer
• 2 TBS flour
• 1-1/2 cups of chicken or beef broth
• 1 medium onion- diced
• 4 cloves of garlic – minced
• 4 sprigs of fresh Thyme
• 4 springs of fresh Tarragon
• 4 -6 cups of Boursin cheese mashed potatoes – or prep your family’s favorite!

In a heavy bottomed skillet, combine a teaspoon of olive oil and a teaspoon of butter and melt together over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook until browned on all sides. Do this in batches if the pan is crowded so you get a nice golden sear. Remove the bangers from the pan and set aside.

Toss in the onion and cook 5 minutes, then add in the garlic. Once the garlic becomes fragrant, roughly 60-90 seconds, slowly pour in the Guinness to deglaze the pan – make sure to scrape up all those brown bits of fond. They are super flavorful and help create the sauce.

Once the beer has been absorbed / evaporated, sprinkle the flour across the onions. Mix well and cook for 2 minutes to rid the pan of any floury taste. Slowly pour in the broth, scrape the bottom and bring to a boil. Add the sausages back in and reduce heat to a simmer. Add the Thyme and Tarragon to the mix and cook for 20 minutes; stirring occasionally.

Once the mashed potatoes are done cooking and / or heated through, add in the 2 cups of greens. I used spinach because it’s what I had on hand, but traditional colcannon potatoes are made with cabbage or kale. I’ve used all three depending on what’s in the fridge and they are all delicious.

Bon Appetit!