Okay you all are probably thinking, what the heck is Rumpledethumps. It is my red-haired Irish son’s favorite dinner. This is a good old-fashioned Irish colcannon, a potato and cabbage dish, traditionally served on Lugnasa, the harvest festival. It is basically good old peasant food with the addition of my new favorite secret ingredient, mace. Mace is found on the outer shell of the nutmeg, think of savory nutmeg spice. It is fantastic with potatoes.

Rumpledethumps

Ingredients:

5 large potatoes (2 – 2/12 pounds)

2 1/2 cups chopped cabbage

2 leeks, washed and chopped

2 1/2 cups coarsely chopped broccoli

6 tbsp butter or more to taste

1 tsp mace

sea salt and freshly ground pepper

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup cream

1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese

Peel the potatoes, cut them into chunks, and boil them in salted water until soft enough to mash. Meanwhile, steam the cabbage, leeks and broccoli until just tender.  Melt 2 tbsp of the butter and stir in the mace and a little salt. Mix this butter with the steamed vegetables adding more seasoning to taste. (You should get a nice hint of mace but don’t make it overpowering.)

Drain the potatoes and mash with more butter, milk, cream and salt and pepper to taste, until you get a nice creamy consistency. (You can add in a little more mace to the potatoes if desired. ) Stir in the seasoned vegetables. Spread in an oiled 13×9 inch baking pan. Melt another 2 tbsp of butter and drizzle over the potatoes. Sprinkle the top with the grated cheese. Place under the broiler until the cheese is nicely browned and bubbly.

If you want to make Rumpledethumps ahead, just cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake in a 350 degree oven until hot all the way through, about 30 minutes. Then remove the foil, and broil to brown the cheese.