I came across this Italian food blogger who made a Sicilian Shrimp Salad with Mashed Purple Potatoes. It gave me an idea for my Plum Purple Italian theme this month.
Her salad is a masterpiece of culinary art, which I will not dare try to replicate. However, I love her approach to unite Italian and American cultures through healthy recipes made from seasonal whole foods. Though, Peruvian in origin, the Purple potato can be utilized in any cuisine that would otherwise use potatoes. Purple potatoes can be roasted, braised, boiled, baked, fried for chips, and even confit’d. They pair well with savory herbs, garlic, poultry, artichokes, both rich and mild cheese, other starchy vegetables such as corn and shelled beans and of course, salad greens. Thus, making them perfect for Italian cooking as well.
In Italy you are most likely to find the French variety called Vitelotte potatoes. These are petite tubers that have an elongated, narrow shape similar to that of a fingerling potato. Today I have stuffed purple potatoes that I feel are a beauty standing alone. I prepare them in a way that allows you to eat the entire potato and the skin is tender. These are bite size pieces that can be eaten whole.
Ingredients
18 Vitelotte potatoes (purple fingerling potatoes)
Olive oil
1 tablespoon garlic salt
½ cup sour cream
½ cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2 teaspoons chopped chives
1½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Method
- Preheat oven to 400°.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Cut potatoes in half and coat with olive oil.
- Sprinkle with garlic salt.
- Lay potatoes out on a baking sheet and bake in to oven until tender, approximately 35 minutes.
- Scoop out pulp, leaving a ⅛-inch-thick shell.
- Mash pulp with a potato masher.
- Add sour cream, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, salt and ground black pepper.
- Spoon potato mixture into shells.
- Garnish with chives and serve warm.
Great colors! Looking good. Thanks for sharing