Purple Potatoes

Did anyone know there is such a thing as a purple potato?  Not this non-potato eater!  We received the little red potatoes in our CSA last week.  Well, while peeling the spuds, I was shocked to see the skin give way to vibrant purple veggies!  It was actually kind of exciting because vibrant colored fruits and veggies have more nutrients, and I'd been hesitant to give T potatoes because there isn't a ton of nutritional value to them.  Plus the purple color was really pretty (the photos don't do this veggie justice).  Since this was my first time making "real" potatoes (aka not sweet potatoes) I decided to try three different methods at the same time.  Normally as I make baby food I attempt a new method each time, determining which is best.  But this time I wanted to try multiple methods since I had plenty of potatoes. 

Ingredients/Tools:
Potatoes - I had about a dozen small potatoes
peeler
knife
tin foil
parchment paper

Note: all methods used the oven, at 400F, for about 25-30 min.

Method One: Foil wrapped potato sticks (with parchment paper)
This was the most time consuming method up-front.  I peeled the individual potatoes, then sliced and diced into thin sticks.  These potatoes are hard to peel because they're so small.  At one point I did end up slicing my finger.  I'd love to hear if people have better ways to peel small potatoes!

My mom read recently that the metal in foil can infuse harmful toxins in your food, so she recommended using parchment paper to line the foil.  I cut a sheet of aluminum foil, then made a matching sheet of parchment paper.  One these were prepared I laid the sticks in even lines on the paper.  Of course as soon as I started rolling the foil the lines disappeared in to a clump of potato sticks, but oh well.  I always add a little water (maybe 1 T worth) before sealing the foil. 

Once the potatoes were cooked I removed them from the oven and diced the sticks.  I didn't have to bake these as long, they were done probably within 20 minutes.  The downside to parchment paper is that the paper ended up sticking to the potato, pretty badly.  I had to cut a lot of potato away to get all the paper off.  Don't think I'll use it again when steaming something like that, especially something as starch-filled as potatoes.

Method Two: Foil wrapped skinned potatoes (whole)
One again, I peeled the potatoes then punctured them all over with a fork.  One they were prepared, I wrapped them in a foil pack with about 1 T of water.  No parchment paper this go-round.  After baking, approximately 25 minutes, I removed and sliced/diced.  Pretty simple!

aren't these just gorgeous? Reminds me of agates!

Method Three: Foil wrapped skin-on potatoes
This was the easiest method by far.  After washing the potatoes (it's always important to wash your veggies before cooking) I punctured them thoroughly then tossed them in the foil pack with 1 T of water.  These took longer to bake, at least 30 min.  After cooking them though, I sliced them in quarters and spent longer than I'd like scraping the skin off.  One of the downsides of this type of potato is the paper-thin, delicate skin.  I can understand why most red mashed potatoes have skin in them still! 

 

yes, we actually did have some red potatoes in our box too.

 

 



Miss T loved the potatoes, and they're really easy to heat up.  They're very easy for her to pick up and feed herself, which is the new thing.  She refuses to eat purees anymore, so I've got quite a bit in the freezer that I'm not sure how we're going to use.  She loves to give us a good challenge!  Don't tell my hubby that I may start working them into our pasta sauces etc. :)