First time for us to grow blue potatoes. I was extremely excited about it right from the beginning, imagining all the things I'd do with them, oh the possibilities! These blue ones are funny little things though, in all sorts of quirky shapes like twisted monkeys they are.




First I opted for the mash. Prepared with a good chunk of butter, milk and some finely chopped caramelised onions. Caramelising onions in bacon fat adds an extra dimension. Never leave any chunks in the mash, it has to be as smooth as butter.
Grilled lamb chops, blue mash and slaw. Lovely.

Next up were crisps. I fried some in oil, the conventional way, and zapped some in the microwave with zero fat, the health-conscious way. I was naively hoping that the healthier crisps would be almost as good as the fatty ones, but the taste, it's just not the same. Sure, they do crisp up nicely, presuming you cut them finer than 1mm (for which you'll need a mandolin), and the taste is okay, but it is missing a certain flavour nuance and the mouth-feel is a bit on the dry side as well.
The best solution is, I think, to use an oven and brush potato slices with a bit of oil. I have tried and it works quite well without being overly fatty.

I still have some blue potatoes left, for a salad or maybe roast potatoes.. haven't decided yet.



Animals from the Luige livestock show. The young cow on the right didn't want to stop licking our hands.




Making crisps at home


Doesn't matter which method you choose, first you have to peel and slice the potatoes very finely on a mandolin. Wash the slices of extra starch and pat dry.

By far the easiest method is deep-frying. Heat oil in a saucepan, drop slices in the 180°C oil, let bubble until golden and crispy. Remove from the oil and drain. Season to taste.

Next is microwaving. Here it is good to have a layered tray or rack of some sort, because otherwise you can prepare only a small amount at a time, since you cannot crowd them, they will stick to each other. This can be very time-consuming.
Season the dry slices before zapping them. Lay in a single layer on a surface and heat on medium, in about 3 minute intervals (depending on your machine), because you don't want to burn them. When crisp, remove from the microwave and let cool.

The traditional oven method seems to be the most tiresome. Preheat the oven to 210°C - 220°C, line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Brush all potato slices with a bit of oil and season to taste. Lay oiled slices in a single layer on the baking parchment, cover with another sheet of baking parchment and top with another baking sheet, to weigh it all down. The thing is, oven cooked crisps tend to curl up and to avoid this, you need to weigh it down with something flat, preferably metal, as it is a heat conductor.
Depending on how good your oven is, you might need to flip the crisps around after 15 minutes or so.

This method is also tricky because you cannot see whether they are done or not.
If you don't mind them curling up like dried leaves, then there is no need to cover them.

13 comments:

  1. Your photos are just beautiful and I love those purple mashed potatoes! So pretty.

    ReplyDelete
  2. That blue mash is wild! I've heard of blue potatoes, and eaten a bag of blue chips, but I've never seen blue mash before.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous11:24 pm

    Never saw or tried purple potatoes.Sure look good;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous12:01 am

    Like how fun those little blue bulbs are ! You have made potato mash look interesting and colourful !

    ReplyDelete
  5. This blog post is absolutely gorgeous! I love the way you shaped the mash and your photos are equally beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  6. See sinine kartulipuder on tõesti väga lahe!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Well, since the colour itself was already so beautiful, I couldn't just blob it onto a plate ;)

    Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Elisa, kas Sa oma sinise kartuli sordinime ka tead? Blue Kongo vast?
    Ma Edinburghis ostsin siniseid kartuleid tihti taluturult ja tegin putru ka. Minu lemmikuks oli "Highland blue" - see oli selline eriti mure sort ja puder jäi hästi mõnus ja maitsev. Siin olen ainult sinist kongot näinud..

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hm, ei tea, sain seemne tuttava vanaemalt Jõgeva kandist. Lubas teine kord veel anda kui meeldib. Maitse on igatahes päris hea ja puder tuli kena, ei olnud vesine ega midagi. Kolmapäeval proovin natuke kartulisalatit teha, näis milline tuleb.

    ReplyDelete
  10. OMG. YOU piped those blue mash potatoes? Amazing.

    Hey zappie, you on twitter?

    ReplyDelete
  11. Yep, sure did :D
    No, sorry, I'm much rather clicking the shutter than the tweet button.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I totally understand that :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love your *autumnish* pictures and your piped purple potatoes are gorgeous. Congratulations ...

    ReplyDelete