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.
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Gorgeous looking potatoes…m drooling over them right now…pls send some to me:)
OMG at those colours in that second picture!
Good heavens! And they blush with lemon juice…:-D
Wow, i had never heard of purple potatoes before, they look lovely!
Oh wow what a colorful and herby dish….
SO SO pretty! My son just pointed out purple potatoes the other day and I should have listened to him & picked them up!
Lovely dish! I’ve never bought raw purple potatoes, but I always lug back packs of Blue Potato Chips from New York (actually I used to, before I spotted them at Hypercity)
Simran: Oh I didn’t know we get them at Hypercity! Will get them the next time I go there. Thanks for the heads up on that
Yum! They look like the Shetland black potatoes I found at my local supermarket a few months ago. When I cut them open, they looked quite similar to the ones in your photo. Delicious!
purple potatoes are so cool!
wow this is new, but they do look pretty.
The colour is out of this world. And I know the lemon juice trick
I am a big fan of these little gems – I made gnocchi out of them and I would do it again.
This looks delicious!
oh i have to try this! i just picked up some purple potatoes myself and these just look to lovely not to try. thanks!
I love how the colour of this dish works with the colour scheme of this blog!
Kelly: give them a shot!
Cynthia: I love it when I find purple foods
What gorgeous photos! I used to be able to get purple potatoes but not anymore. I love them!
ok, I have searched EVERYWHERE and can't find purple potatoes in Raleigh, NC. Anyone? Help! I love potatoes and the color purple. Gotta have 'em!
I see you have a Trader Joes in Raleigh. I buy variety packs of organic, red and purple potatoes at Trader's for really cheap out here in California. They might might carry them in Raleigh as well. Good luck. BTW, making beer potatoes out of purple potatoes might be sacrilige to some, but I do it using that variety bag and an IPA and they are delicious.
I'm making these right now! I have a blend of red, white and purple potatoes.
These look delicious. I don't know that I have ever seen purple potatoes. I am going to look for them, though.
And I agree with you…those garlicky baked fries are still my favorite way to eat potatoes. I have that wsame receipe from Lottie + Doof and I have made them several times. Every time is as good as the last.
Nothing can match up to those mean garlicky baked fries!
Celebrated my parents 44th Anniversary tonight with your potatoes. I had to make a few changes. I didn't have the pink pepper corns, but they came out great with course ground black pepper. Also I didn't turn them over. I really enjoyed the difference in texture from that. (Crisp on the bottom, fluffy on the top.) One of your comments (from pRiyA) suggested lemon so I gave each serving a squeeze as I served it. They were the highlight of a meal that included rib eye steaks grilled Tuscan style with olive oil, salt, and pepper; Spinach salad with fresh bacon bits, onion, hard boiled egg, and heirloom tomato with a hot sweet vinaigrette; and Cantaloupe wrapped in Prosciutto De Parma drizzled with olive oil, a touch of sea salt and fresh ground pepper.
Hey David, thanks for the details of the menu of your parents anniversary. EVERYTHING sounds so delicious! I am so happy to know that everyone enjoyed them.
I made this simple recipe from my home grown purple potatos and was very, very happy with the recipe. I think the lime really makes it POP! Thank you Shaheen!
Mynette: I am SO happy you enjoyed it! I wish i could grown my own potatoes as well.
thanks 4 the recipe. I am a gourmet caterer and Iam always looking 4 new ways to prepare my fave potatoes. I can eat them cooked any way , any time of day !
oooh thanks so much for this, i am the very happy recipient of a big bag of violet potatoes and looking for a recipe that is easy but still has "wow…those are purple potatoes!!!" factor. trying this tonight!
I found purple potatoes at the Whole Foods stores in St. Louis….I like them cause they are a nice change from sweet potatoes & are also sweet.
I feel that they do not microwave as well & are better boiled.
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