Rumbledethumps

The Scottish Borders' answer to colcannon: mashed potato folded with buttery kale and onion, heaped into a dish, topped with grated cheese, and baked until golden and bubbling

Origin: Scottish Borders, Scotland

From the journey of Kale.

Rumbledethumps is the dish of the Scottish Borders, close cousin to the Irish colcannon and the English bubble and squeak, and its wonderful name is thought to describe the making of it: the potatoes are 'rumbled', mashed and tumbled together, and 'thumped', pressed down into the dish. It is humble harvest cooking, a way of bringing together the two great crops of the cottage garden, the potato and the hardy curly kale that stands through the Border winters, into one warming, comforting bake. The mashed potato is folded through with kale and onion softened in butter, the whole heaped into a dish, scattered with mature cheese, and baked until the top is golden and crisp and the inside soft and fragrant with butter. Where colcannon is served straight from the pot, the baking and the cheese crust are what mark rumbledethumps as its own dish. Traditionally made to use up the day's boiled potatoes and a handful of greens from the kaleyard, it is eaten as a supper in its own right or as a generous side to roast meats and sausages, and it is exactly the kind of thrifty, sustaining cooking that the cold Border country has always done best.

Ingredients

800 g floury potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
250 g curly kale, tough stems removed, finely shredded
1 onion or leek, finely chopped
60 g butter
100 g mature cheddar, grated
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method

Boil the potatoes in well-salted water for 20 minutes until tender. Drain and leave to steam-dry for a few minutes, then mash with half the butter and season well.
Meanwhile, melt the remaining butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion or leek and cook for 5 minutes until soft, then add the shredded kale and a splash of water and cook for a further 6 to 8 minutes until wilted and tender.
Fold the buttery kale and onion through the mashed potato until evenly combined. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Heap the mixture into a buttered ovenproof dish, level the top, and scatter over the grated cheddar.
Bake at 200°C (fan 180°C) for about 25 to 30 minutes, until the cheese is golden and bubbling and the edges are crisp. Serve hot.

Notes

Cabbage may be used in place of, or alongside, the kale, as in the closely related colcannon and bubble and squeak. Rumbledethumps is a classic way to use up leftover mashed potato and cooked greens, in which case simply combine, top with cheese, and bake. A spoonful of wholegrain mustard or a little crisp bacon stirred through is a fine, if untraditional, addition.

The Gastrographer

Name: Rumbledethumps
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Scotland
Ingredients: 800 g floury potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks; 250 g curly kale, tough stems removed, finely shredded; 1 onion or leek, finely chopped; 60 g butter; 100 g mature cheddar, grated; salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control