purple mashed potatoes

I adore purple potatoes, and I admit that part of the reason is the color. Who can resist purple vegetables? I mashed these once in the traditional way, and they were delicious. Another time I tried to roast them, and that did not go well at all. They shriveled up and became extremely dry and tasteless.

Smitten kitchen then posted a recipe that promised to make the purple brighter. How could I resist?

I know that this is rapidly becoming a fanblog. I can't help it-- her taste in food is impeccable! And by that I mean, it matches mine. Why do all the weeding-out of recipes when someone's largely doing it for me? I promise I'll post some other stuff too. If she'd just stop posting things I have an urgent need to make.

I made this once with red potatoes instead of the purple, and I must say that it's much better with purple. With the red, the lemon and the shallot flavors were too strong and bright, but they melded perfectly with the purple potatoes. So find purple ones--it's worth it.

Michael Anthony’s Fork-Crushed Purple Majesty Potatoes
New York Magazine

Serves 4

1 lb. Purple Majesty Potatoes, washed
4 small shallots, minced
2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
6 tablespoons good extra-virgin olive oil (we used half, and it was plenty for us)
Fleur de sel to taste
White pepper to taste
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped

In a large pot, cook potatoes with skins on in heavily salted boiling water until tender, approximately 15 minutes. Remove potatoes from pot, and peel them while still warm. Place potatoes in a large bowl and, using a fork, gently smash them, maintaining a fairly chunky consistency. Fold in minced shallots, lemon juice, olive oil, fleur de sel, and white pepper. Finish with parsley.