Oh, purple. The color of royalty. The color of luxury. Ever since the world lost Prince a few weeks ago, we’ve been seeing purple everywhere. But purple has always been my color of choice. In fact, it’s my favorite color.
But until recently, I have not expressed my love of purple through food. There are simply not that many purple foods to be had. Blueberries, when cooked, turn a lovely shade of deep purple. Purple potatoes are great fun when you can find them. But now there are Stokes Purple sweet potatoes to add to this short list. As Prince would say, let’s go crazy!
My friends at Frieda’s Produce recently sent me a summer grilling box full of all kinds of unusual fruits and vegetables to spark my imagination — from habanero peppers to turmeric root. In the box were two huge Stokes Purple sweet potatoes. I was intrigued by this special sweet potato variety that has only been commercially available for a few years.
One thing I learned about Stokes Purple sweet potatoes? They are incredibly good for you. That deep color derives from multiple anthocyanins, the same pigments responsible for bright red foods like cherries and strawberries. Scientists believe that anthocyanins and related phenolic compounds have health benefits, such as minimizing free radicals that can cause cancer, protecting the liver and lowering blood pressure. Like all sweet potatoes, Stokes Purple are also a low-glycemic index food, which helps you feel full, longer.
As with any new fruit or vegetables, Stokes Purple sweet potatoes can cause anxiety. How should I cook them? What will they taste like? But rest assured that many food bloggers have gone before you and come up with tons of ways to cook these Stokes Purple sweet potatoes, from purees and soups to pies and cakes. One important tip: bake them for longer than regular sweet potatoes and at a moderate heat. Also, if baking with them, watch out for baking soda which will turn your purple potatoes green. Not cool, baking soda. Not cool.
But my Stokes Purple sweet potatoes came in a summer grilling inspiration box. Wasn’t I under some obligation to, you know, grill them? Grilling season has just arrived in Chicago and my husband was happy to oblige me this weekend by grilling up some purple sweet potatoes.
I started by parboiling these colorful tubers because I wanted to make sure the interior would be tender without having to cook them for ages and ages on the grill. It’s an extra step, to be sure, but one that can be done in advance.
After being parboiled, the Stokes Purple sweet potatoes, sliced into rounds, only need about five minutes per side on the grill to come out beautifully charred on the outside and soft and creamy on the inside. The flavor of these purple spuds is sweet, as your might expect, but also rich and slightly winey. The texture is drier and fluffier than an orange sweet potato and not at all gummy.
These grilled Stokes Purple sweet potatoes taste absolutely delicious with just a drizzle of fruity olive oil and a sprinkle of seat salt. Served this way they would make a delightful, and healthy, side dish for any cookout. But I just had to gild the lily by adding a sweet and tangy honey yogurt sauce flavored with warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg to my grilled sweet potatoes. Is it worth the extra effort? Uh, yeah. It is.
Ingredients
- 2 large Stokes Purple sweet potatoes
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- 2 TB honey
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
Instructions
- Wash the sweet potatoes well but do not peel them.
- Place the sweet potatoes in a large pot of cold water and bring to a boil.
- Turn heat down, crack the lid and simmer potatoes until fork-tender, about 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare honey-yogurt sauce by whisking together the yogurt, honey, cinnamon and nutmeg in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Slice potatoes into rounds and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
- Preheat the grill.
- Grill the potato slices over medium heat for approximately five minutes per side, until nicely charred.
- Serve the potato slices warm drizzled with the honey-yogurt sauce.
Full disclosure time: I received a box of produce from Frieda’s Produce for review purposes. I was not asked to write about any of the products nor have I received any compensation. As always, all opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.
