Sneaky-Good Mashed Purple Potatoes

 

Looking for something different to serve at Easter?  Mashed Purple Potatoes are a great option!  If you like plain, ol’ regular mashed potatoes, these really aren’t any different from a taste perspective – well, on second thought, they may be a tad sweet.

But certainly not “sweet” in the way that sweet potatoes or yams are.  But, you can taste an undertone of sweetness with that first bite.  And, the first bite is everything that you’d expect from mashed potatoes – creamy and rich with the satisfying mouth-feel that only mashed potatoes provide.  And, the purple color – wow!  Such a fabulous pop of color for any dinner table!

And, here’s an added bonus – purple potatoes are high in an antioxidant called anthocyanin, which is also found in other richly colored foods such as berries.  You can read more about their nutritional value by clicking on this link, Specialty Produce.

And, I bet if you get your kids involved in the mashing process, they’ll probably eat them, too!  So, ready to get started?  Here’s what you do:

 

Select several good-sized potatoes at your grocery store.  These 5 potatoes ended up weighing a total of 1 1/2 pounds.  First step is to wash them.

 

 

Next, peel the purple potatoes.

 

 

Then, chop each potato in half and each half into six or eight chunks depending on the size of the potato.  This step isn’t necessary – you can boil the potatoes whole.  But I like to cut them into chunks to speed up the cooking process and make mashing easier.

 

 

Put either the whole, peeled purple potatoes or all the purple potato chunks in a large pot.

 

 

Cover the potatoes with cold water, place on stove top and bring to a boil on high heat.  Once at a rolling boil (20 to 25 minutes for a large pot of water), time the potatoes for 8 minutes.  Check to see if they are “fork-tender” and if so, they are ready.

 

 

Remove from heat and strain potatoes in a strainer in your sink.

 

 

Put the potatoes back into the pot and add 3 tablespoons of butter.  Allow butter to melt slightly.

 

 

Start mashing your potatoes with a masher incorporating the butter.  I love this masher!  This one’s from Princess House and I’ve had it for several years.  It has a super long handle so that you don’t burn yourself in the hot pot and the longer handle provides you with much needed leverage to put oomph behind your potato mashing!

 

Add cream to your purple potatoes and continue mashing.  I measured out 1/2 cup of half-and-half, but only ended up using about a 1/4 cup.  Judge the consistency as you mash the potatoes – you don’t want them too moist or they won’t hold their shape and will run all over your dinner plate (like over-watered instant mashed potatoes!)!

 

 

Perfectly mashed purple potatoes in the hot pot!

 

 

Spoon the mashed purple potatoes into a serving bowl, top with another dollop of butter and allow the butter to melt, drizzling down the sides.  Serve immediately.

NOTE:  we were actually eating these for dinner the other night and the rest of our meal wasn’t ready by the time I finished these potatoes and photographed them for this blog post.  So, I returned them to the pot, covered them with a lid and let them sit there until the rest of the meal was ready.  Then, I returned them to the stove and reheated them on medium-heat, stirring occasionally until reheated, which took about 5 minutes.  Still delicious!

Here’s the recipe:

 

Print

 

Tootles,

 

Related Posts:

(other potato recipes)

• Baked Sweet Potatoes with Warm Maple Drizzle and Toasted Pecans
• Creamed Potatoes with Ham and Petite Peas
• Creamy Mashed Potatoes
• Gail’s Potato Chip Cookies
• Irish Rainbow Country Potatoes
• Pancetta, Potato and Broccoli Frittata
• Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Cauliflower with Parmesan
• Roasted Potato Wedges
• Tri-colored Roasted Potato Salad