Fried Purple Potatoes with Bacon

Potatoes are one of my favorite ingredients - baked, boiled, sauteed, mashed - they never fail to satisfy. When you consider the different sizes and colors not to mention all the ways to enhance this noble vegetable it is no surprise that the sky's the limit!

While potatoes have gotten a bad rep for the modern predilection for frying them or heaping sour cream, butter and bacon on them, they are nutritional powerhouses that include several B vitamins and vitamin C, minerals like potassium and magnesium, and in the red and purple varieties, important anti-oxidants. Nutrition aside, I love the color they bring to any dish!

If you have any gardening impulses try planting potatoes. It is such a treat to grow different varieties and nothing compares to digging up these treasures. Finding them cradled in the soil after pulling away their green tops is one of the most exciting parts of growing your own vegetables! If you buy purple ones, make sure they are purple all the way through; some are white on the inside.

While I love potatoes as additions to soups, stews, Indian curries and other dishes, sometimes I want to just eat potato in its simple glory. Here is a perfect example; sauteed purple potato in a few pieces of bacon. The gorgeous royal purple hue of the potato mixed with the smokiness of the bacon adds a decadence that only serves to enhance the creamy potato flesh. Such a treat!

Fried Purple Potatoes with Bacon

1-2 purple potatoes, washed and sliced in 1/2 inch slices
2 strips fatty bacon, diced
salt
pepper

Saute bacon in heavy bottom skillet until fat begins to render. Add potatoes and toss to coat for 2-3 minutes. Turn heat down to medium low and allow potatoes to crisp on both sides. Season with salt and pepper as desired and serve.

Hugs!