Yellow Finns and All Blues: Cooking the Potato Rainbow

The diversity gardeners have long enjoyed with potatoes is beginning to make its way to the produce department. Yukon Gold and All Blue are occasionally found beside the standard Russet, Red Bliss and White Rose (also known as “California all-purpose” and unquestionably the world’s least gratifying potato).

Even so, the unusual potato varieties that show up in supermarkets are often expensive. And they’re seldom properly packaged to exclude light, which means they may have “greened” by the time you buy them.

I prefer to grow my own. Potatoes are easy and take less space than you may think. I get my starts from Ronniger’s, Star Route, Moyie Springs, Ida. 83845, organic-potato specialists who sell spuds to eat via mail order in addition to offering more than 150 kinds of seed potatoes. Their catalogue costs $2.

But no matter how you get them, it’s gratifying to know that potato cookery is no longer confined to the Northern European butter-cream-and-bacon routines that have been traditional in the United States. As more and more excellent ethnic cookbooks are published, we see how varied and imaginative the options are.

Take, for instance, the 12 distinctive potato recipes in “The Art of South American Cooking” by the late Felipe Rojas-Lombardi, a gifted Peruvian chef with wonderfully tangled culinary roots. Many of his ways with potatoes are completely unfamiliar and even the familiar ones are different.

ENSALADA DE PAPAS (From “The Art of South American Cooking”)

3 to 3 1/2 pounds blue potatoes, Yellow Finns or new potatoes, scrubbed

1/4 cup red wine or raspberry vinegar

1 large clove garlic, peeled and crushed

8 to 10 anchovy fillets, drained and minced

3/4 cup olive oil

2 or 3 jalapeno chiles, seeded and finely chopped

8 green onions, trimmed, washed and thinly sliced

1 cup chopped fresh mint leaves

1 cup chopped Italian parsley

Place potatoes in 2 1/2-quart pot. Add about 8 cups water and cook, covered, until potatoes are done, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat, drain off all water and set potatoes on rack to cool and dry. When cool, peel. Cut lengthwise and then crosswise into 1/2-inch slices. Set aside.

Pour vinegar into cup and add crushed garlic. With fork tines, mash garlic and let soak at least 10 minutes. When ready to use, remove and discard garlic. Thoroughly mash anchovy fillets on plate with fork. Moisten with 1 tablespoon garlic-flavored vinegar, mash together and add to vinegar in cup. Mix well.

In large bowl, combine garlic-anchovy vinegar and olive oil. Whisk thoroughly. Stir in jalapenos and green onions. Add sliced potatoes and toss gently. Add mint and parsley and toss again. Adjust seasonings. Serve. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Note: Most blue potatoes are actually mottled lavender when raw and when first cooked. Color deepens and evens out on standing, so cook blue potatoes few hours in advance for maximum color effect. Tightly covered, this salad will keep well in refrigerator for 2 days.

Each serving contains about:

464 calories; 300 mg sodium; 6 mg cholesterol; 28 grams fat; 47 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams protein; 1 gram fiber; 54% calories from fat.

Potatoes originated in Peru, so Rojas-Lombardi may be said to have an inside track, but the Old World can also show us a trick or two. This dish, from Rosemary Barron’s “Flavors of Greece,” is for those who like strong flavors. Real garlic lovers can press out the soft centers of the baked cloves and spread them on the potatoes or on toasted bread.

GARLIC POTATOES WITH JUNIPER BERRIES (Patates Skorthou)

8 large cloves garlic

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons dried juniper berries, lightly crushed

1 1/2 pounds small new potatoes

Juice of 1 small lemon

Salt (preferably coarse-grain sea salt) and cracked pepper

Finely chopped fresh oregano or dried rigani (Greek oregano)

Triangles of toasted whole-wheat bread, optional

Trim off stem ends of garlic cloves and rub off any feathery outer skin.

Pour olive oil into heavy, shallow baking dish large enough to hold potatoes in single layer. Sprinkle juniper berries over oil and set dish in 350-degree oven until oil warm.

Place potatoes and garlic in dish and roll in warm oil to coat lightly. Bake 10 minutes and roll potatoes and garlic in oil again. Reduce temperature to 300 degrees and bake uncovered until potatoes are just tender, about 50 minutes.

Roll potatoes in oil to coat once more and transfer to warm platter. Sprinkle with lemon juice and season to taste with salt, pepper and oregano. Serve hot or warm, with toast, if desired. Makes 3 to 4 servings.

Each serving contains about:

286 calories; 89 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 10 grams fat; 46 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams protein; 1 gram fiber; 33% calories from fat.