Blogs / Local Bounty / Winter-Fall 2011 / Weiser Farm Potatoes

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Weiser Farm Potatoes

Laker Baker, Peewee fingerlings, and purple potatoes from Specialty Produce.

Potatoes from Weiser Family Farms
Available at Specialty Produce and the Little Italy Mercato

For a lowly root vegetables, potatoes can be quite beautiful. I picked up three varieties grown by  Weiser Family Farms at Specialty Produce recently, one of which I’d never seen before and was completely besotted by. This would be the Laker Baker, sometimes known as Pinto or Zebra Striped potatoes. They run about the same size as Yukon golds but the coloring is extravagant—a light purple ringing circles of light gold with yellow flesh under the thin skin.

I was warned that they tend to be dry but after roasting with coarse sea salt in my clay diable, they were crispy outside with a mellow delicate flavor in tender flesh. They’re also delicious steamed or sautéed with herbs and garlic.

The other two varieties are longtime favorites of mine, peewee fingerlings (a mix of Russian Banana, Red Thumb, and Purple Pervian) and Purple. I’ve been alternating using them, sometimes cooking them in the diable and other times slicing them lengthwise and tossing with olive oil and salt to roast with chicken. You can’t go wrong either way.

You can find all these and more varieties at Specialty Produce. I’ve also bought Weiser’s fingerlings at the Polito Family Farm stall at the Little Italy Mercato.

What’s your favorite way to cook these unusual potatoes?

Photos by Caron Golden