Vitelotte potato

Vitelotte

What it is

The violet flesh came out of the Andes and made its French name in the nineteenth century, under the Second Empire, when it was sold as truffe de Chine. The colour is anthocyanin, the same class of pigment as in blackcurrant, and it behaves like one — it bleeds out into plain cooking water and holds far better in acid.

In the kitchen

Cook them whole in their skins, in salted water with a tablespoon of vinegar, and cut only afterwards — peeled and cut first, much of the colour ends up in the pan. The flesh is dry and chestnut-like, which makes a poor purée and an excellent warm salad.

Goes with

Butter Crème fraîche Chives Herring Hazelnut oil Fleur de sel de Guérande White wine vinegar

Same species

Bintje potato Black Krim tomato Bonnotte de Noirmoutier Chuño Datterino tomato Eggplant

In season alongside

Cauliflower Celeriac Charcoal burner Charolais Hedgehog mushroom Acorn

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