Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Vitelotte Noir!



I returned home from the market today grinning from ear to ear. Inside my colorful straw basket, was something very exciting- a bag full of vitelotte noir potatoes! Now, they may not be the prettiest of the bunch on the outside, but just look at that goregous, psychadelically purple flesh! This ain't your normal everyday 'tatty', let me tell you!

The vitelotte noir, or 'black truffle potato' as the farmer called it, is an ancient potato variety which was grown by the Incas of Peru approximately 800 years ago. They were introduced in France around the middle of the 19th century. Vitelottes have a long, thin body and a dimpled, dark gray skin. Their flavor is nutty, almost chestnut- like and they are ideal for roasting or frying. I simply cut them into quarters and tossed them with a tablespoon of chilli oil, two fat cloves of crushed garlic, a pinch of maldon salt and lots of freshly ground pepper. Thirty minutes in a 200C oven was enough to give me the most delectable Wednesday afternoon lunch! I served them steaming hot with a dip made from two tablespoons crème fraîche, an utterly ripe red chilli and a bit of chopped parsley. Delicious!

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

We serve these potatoes a lot in the restaurant I work at. If I got a quarter everytime somebody asked something about the vitelotte noir I would be rich right now :P

Gloria Baker said...

Paola estas patatas se ven fantàsticas, que especial el color nuca las habìa visto.Me encantaron.
PS Paola puse unas fotos de mi mamà y los niños por si quieres verlas en el blog (Los niños tienen13 años)xxx Gloria

Sandy said...

WOW!!! They are stunning and my absolute favorite colour in the world. Gorgeous.

Erin said...

My favorite color is purple. As a child I'm sure I would have been over the moon if these showed up on my dinner plate. Honestly...I'd probably still feel that way today. What fun!

Jen said...

I love those potatoes! We call them Peruvian potatoes around here.

vonsachsen said...

Interesting info AND actually, I too find them gorgeous looking! They have a great color on the first photo!!

Anna's kitchen table said...

I have never seen them for sale around here, I'll have to keep my eyes open, if only for the novelty factor! :-)

Anonymous said...

Black truffle potatoes? Very intriguing! Thanks for the photos, letting us all live vicariously :)

Gloria Baker said...

Paola Valli me diò un Award y yo lo estoy compartiendo con los blogs que màs admiro, tù estàs en esos, mira my Blog cuando puedas. Cariños. Gloria

Fenke said...

ha, on sunday i almost had the same for dinner. here in germany they are called 'trüffel kartoffeln'.
i also baked them in oven with garlic and rosemary and feta cheese and then served them lukewarm on a salad.

Paola Westbeek said...

Yup! Very original potatoes indeed! Erin and Fenke, welcome! And thanks for reading my blog!

paola

Paola Westbeek said...

Thanks for stopping by Jen! :)

paola

violets said...

Hi Paola

I just love these purple and blue potatoes, I mentioned this on my blog but don't you think they taste like a potato should.

Love your pictures of them.


Vi xx