Champ

Ulster mashed potato beaten with scallions steeped in warm milk, with a well of butter in the middle

Origin: Ulster & Donegal, Ireland

From the journey of Spring Onion.

Four ingredients and one technique, and the technique is everything. The scallions are not stirred raw into the mash. They are cut, put into the milk, and warmed through gently so that the milk takes their flavour before it ever meets the potato. That single step is the difference between champ and mashed potato with onion in it: steeped, the allium flavour goes right through the bowl, mild and sweet and even; stirred in raw, it sits in aggressive green flecks and tastes of nothing but itself. The serving is fixed by tradition. The champ is heaped into a mound, a deep well is made in the centre with the back of a spoon, and a substantial lump of butter is dropped in to melt. Each forkful is taken from the outside of the mound and dipped through the pool of butter on the way to the mouth. Children were told the butter was for the fairies. It is not. It belongs to the north of Ireland, to Ulster and to Donegal, and it goes by other names in other places: poundies, cally, pandy. It is regularly confused with colcannon, and the distinction is worth keeping. Colcannon has kale or cabbage worked through it and belongs to Hallowe'en; champ has only the scallion and belongs to no particular day. What both express is the logic of the Irish potato kitchen: an extremely cheap and abundant starch made worth eating by whatever green thing the ground will give, and in a wet northern climate the scallion gives earliest in spring and latest in autumn.

Ingredients

Potatoes

  • 1.2 kg floury potatoes, such as Kerr's Pink or Maris Piper, peeled and halved
  • 1 tbsp salt, for the water

Scallion Milk

  • 300 ml whole milk
  • 1 large bunch scallions (spring onions), about 150 g, finely sliced, white and green

To Finish

  • 100 g salted butter, plus a large lump for the well
  • 1 tsp salt, or to taste
  • 0.5 tsp freshly ground white pepper

Method

  1. Put the potatoes in cold salted water, bring to the boil, and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes until a knife slides in without resistance.
  2. Whilst they cook, put the milk and the sliced scallions in a small pan over a low heat.
  3. Bring the milk barely to a simmer, then take it off the heat, cover, and leave to steep for ten minutes.
  4. Drain the potatoes thoroughly and return them to the dry pan over a low heat for a minute to steam off the surface moisture.
  5. Mash or rice the potatoes whilst hot, with no liquid added yet, until completely smooth.
  6. Beat in the 100 g of butter, then add the warm scallion milk, scallions and all, a little at a time, beating until the champ is smooth, soft, and pale green-flecked.
  7. Season with salt and white pepper and beat again. Taste; it will take more salt than you expect.
  8. Heap into a warm bowl, press a deep well into the centre with the back of a spoon, and drop in a large lump of butter to melt.

Notes

Floury potatoes only. Waxy varieties will not break down and give a lumpy, gluey champ regardless of technique. A hundred and fifty grams of scallions is a large bunch and is correct. The finished champ should be visibly flecked green throughout. Colcannon is the near relative: make exactly as above and beat in 300 g of finely shredded kale or cabbage, cooked and squeezed dry, at the end. Traditionally eaten on its own as a supper dish with a glass of buttermilk, though it is also the right accompaniment to bacon, sausages, or any braised meat. Leftovers make excellent potato cakes: bind with a beaten egg and a little flour, form into patties, and fry in butter until crisp on both sides.

The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

Mapping Culinary History

To explore — select an ingredient below.

Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route
Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control
© 2026 The Gastrographer. All original research, narratives, and illustrations. All rights reserved.