A couple of months ago I chanced upon some gorgeous looking purple potatoes on the web. I was deeply fascinated. Purple and potatoes? It seemed like nature conspired to grant one of my silly fantasies! I quickly put them on my list of things that I need to get when I’m traveling (or someone else is, on grounds that they won’t judge me when I ask them to carry purple potatoes).
You can imagine my happiness when I found them at Dean and Deluca in NYC – I grabbed them instantly! (Let’s ignore their steep price for now; and a word of advice –buy them from your farmer’s market instead). I was elated at having made the most unusual purchase of the day and the feeling was fortified by the “Oh wow, they’re really potatoes?” I got from my folks there.
Being super precious potatoes for me, I wanted to try something different with these. Rosemary was the one herb on my mind for quite some time to make with these beauties. I decided to make it Pioneer Woman style. I boiled the potatoes and bashed them up a little on the cooking sheet while they were still warm. Then instead of using just regular olive oil, I made some garlic infused olive oil after my last spud success. Just perfect, I thought. You see, garlic makes me happy.
Then, I topped it with some chopped rosemary and pink peppercorns (why not go all the way?) and seasoned it with a little more salt and pepper. Tossed this into the oven for a good 20-25 minutes and they were done!
Oh and you want to have a little fun? Squeeze a little lime juice on the potatoes and see the potatoes blush! They turn a lighter and brighter shade of fuschia.
These turned out beautifully; crispy on the outside and soft and mushy on the inside. But in case you’re wondering, the Garlicky Baked Fries still remain my favourite kind of spuds.
Herby Purple Potatoes
24 oz/700g purple potatoes
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
6 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp rosemary
1 tbsp pink peppercorn, ground
Sea salt
Lime
- Boil the potatoes with salt.
- Transfer the boiled potatoes on a baking sheet while still warm. Bash them up lightly with a potato masher, until it has flatted out.
- Warm the olive oil with garlic until it is fragrant. About 1 minute.
- Pour the hot oil over the potatoes.
- Sprinkle with the rosemary, pink peppercorns and salt.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 450°F/230°C for 20-25 minutes. Turn over half way through baking.
- Serve warm.
