Champ

Buttery mashed potato mixed through with plenty of chopped spring onion, traditionally served with a well of melted butter.

Champ is particularly associated with Ulster and the north of Ireland, where it was traditionally eaten as a simple, filling meal on its own rather than as a side dish, sometimes with just a glass of buttermilk. Like colcannon, it reflects the centrality of the potato and spring onion (or scallions) to rural Irish cooking, and different regions developed variants using nettles, peas or chives instead of spring onion depending on what was seasonally available.

Real champ is generously studded with spring onion cooked gently in milk before being folded through the mash, and is traditionally served with a deep well of melted butter in the center for scooping potato through as you eat.