Purple Potatoes

While shopping at Zion Market in Clairemont I came across a interesting potato. Its a type of sweet potato and the inside is a beautiful purple color. 

 Photo from Hawaii Pride

I bought two and when I got home wondered now how would I cook them.

I did a little internet search and came across a lot of mash potato recipes and they sounded good but I was looking for something like sweet potato fries. I couldn't really find anything but I thought why not just roast them like any other potato.

So we peeled them, cut them up, added some Idaho potatoes with them, tossed in olive oil, salt, pepper and baked at 400* for about an hour.

They taste just like sweet potatoes and roasted up fine.

They lost a bit of their fabulous color but still tasted great.

My Internet Findings

"Okinawan sweet potatoes, sometimes called Japanese purple potatoes, or Japanese sweet potatoes, are a unique variety of sweet potato which is actually native to the Americas, not Japan, let alone Okinawa. These sweet potatoes have become famous and very distinctive because of their richly colored flesh, which happens to be a vibrant purple, in a marked contrast to the dull white skins of this produce item. Okinawan sweet potatoes can be used in a wide assortment of dishes, and they are especially popular in Japan and Hawaii." - Wise Geek

"Purple-fleshed sweet potatoes, on the other hand, are a fantastic source of anthocyanins (especially peonidins and cyanidins) and have outstanding antioxidant activity. In one study, the antioxidant activity in purple sweet potatoes was 3.2 times higher than that of a type of blueberry! An equally amazing fact about sweet potatoes is the antioxidant capacity of all their parts. Recent research has shown different genes to be at work in the flesh versus skin of the sweet potato producing different concentrations of anthocyanin antioxidants. Even the leaves of the sweet potato plant have been shown to provide important antioxidant benefits and are included in soups in many cuisines. Sweet potatoes can be grouped into two different categories depending upon the texture they have when cooked: some are firm, dry, and mealy, while others are soft and moist. In both types, the taste is starchy and sweet with different varieties having different unique tastes." - WHFoods

♥