So, if you missed out on my post about Being Adventurous in the Grocery Store, you should read it, because then you would know why I couldn’t resist buying these beautiful purple potatoes at the grocery store this week. We honestly don’t eat potatoes often, so I don’t know if I just haven’t noticed them before, or if they are a new addition to the produce section; either way, I am very excited to try something new.

So first things first: Nutrition facts for purple potatoes are basically the exact same as Russet potatoes, except for one big difference: the antioxidant anthocyanin. This antioxidant is also what causes the potato to be purple. Colorful produce are typically always good sources of antioxidants which is why dietitians recommend that you “eat a rainbow.” (and we are not talking about Skittles here.) 🙂

Since I haven’t tried purple potatoes before, I searched for some recipes online and was not surprised to find that Smitten Kitchen has a recipe for purple potatoes. Since Deb hasn’t let me down before, I decided to give her fork-crushed purple potato recipe a try with a very minor change – I substituted my normal salt instead of her fancy salt.) To my surprise, I didn’t really like them, but my husband did. They were a little too bitter for me. Next time I think I will try just normal mashed potatoes with the purple potatoes and see how that goes. Here is the recipe if you want to give it a try.

What you need:

• 1 pound Purple Majesty or other purple potatoes, washed
• 4 small shallots, minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• 6 tablespoons good extra-virgin olive oil (we used half, and it was plenty for us)
• Salt to taste
• White pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped

How to make it:

Leave the skins on the potatoes and boil in salted water for about 15 minutes. Remove the potatoes from the pot and remove the skin while they are still warm. Place the potatoes in a large bowl and gently smash them with a fork. You want them to be chunky. Next, gently stir in minced shallots, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and white pepper. Finish with parsley.

You do have to admit that it is very pretty! If you try it I hope you enjoy it more than I did! And don’t forget to bring the kids into the kitchen with you. They should easily be able to smash the potatoes for you and stir in the rest of the ingredients. We are currently working on learning colors with our 2 year old, so this recipe was perfect for emphasizing our “Purple Day.”

Let me know. Have you seen purple potatoes before in your grocery store?