Thursday, January 24, 2013

Purple Potato Soup #Superbowlfood #Ravens




Football has been in my blood from the time I was a kid; sitting on my grandfather's knee watching the game every Monday.  My grandmother in the kitchen and the family planted in front of the TV. It was tradition.

When I married Cory he was not a sports fan and through the years I drifted away from watching the sport.  I played a lot of tennis and so we were drawn to the Grand Slams of the tennis world.  I would read the sports page and try to stay up to date with coaches and players but I soon ran out of time once my kids came to read the paper, much less the sports page.

We have lived in some pretty awesome cities with great teams:  Seattle and the Seahawks, Denver and the Bronco's and the Dallas Cowboys in Texas…ever hear of these teams?  Sure you have.

It was not until me moved to Maryland that my husband, after 25 years of marriage, decided to watch football.  Last year our first game together was the Patriots vs. Ravens.  We were bummed they lost but since it was our first game we did not have too much invested in to their loss.

This year though was a totally different story.  We became bigger fans--face paint, purple hair and even purple food managed to get into our line up.

It was like a crazy woman was unleashed inside of me when we started watching this year;  I LOVE the game of football.  I know it's rough and not for everyone, but to me, it is exciting.  Getting to know the players and each of their weaknesses and strengths bonds a person to the team.  I missed it.  It did not take me long to jump right back into stats, coaches and team members.  The difference is that the coaches and players I watched as a child are now the sports announcers calling the play by play action for the viewers and those listening on the radio.  Names that I grew up with-- Jimmy Johnson, Mike Ditka and Dan Marino--just to name a few, are older and wiser, like myself.  I am a legend in my own mind, like the players and coaches then and now. 

It's electrifying to see how a quarter back can lob a ball and place it perfectly into the hands of the receiver, like Torrey Smith.  My favorite is watching Jones receive the ball from a kick off and run it down, yard after yard, passing the other team as they try and stop him.  I can't forget Ray Lewis and those short runs.  Flacco passes him the ball and he goes for the first down. Each time he finds himself at the bottom of the pile.  On more than one occasion I have had to even yell at the TV, thinking I was helping him run the yards down the field….run Lewis run!

I made this soup for a local magazine that is coming out in February, our wedding edition.  The soup is beautiful and looks lovely on the table; of course, this was before we beat the Patriots last weekend.

SUPER BOWL XLVII here we come!

I really wanted the 49er's to win.  I wanted these two brothers, Jim and John Harbaugh,  to make history and have their teams play against each other for what may be a great family moment for their parents, spouses and kids.  Can you imagine being the parents?  To have them win on the same day, to make the cut, must have been an exhausting and thrilling Sunday afternoon for them.

When making this soup, you need to remember that the color is found through out the potato but the skin will make the soup a deeper  purple it is also where the nutrition is found.  I chose to keep the purple skins on and you can see in the pictures the pieces of dark purple.  I asked my family if it bothered them and they said no.  If this is an issue for you, then go ahead and peal them just knowing that your soup may be lighter in color.  I would also suggest using a Vitamix or Blendtec (I don't own either of these machines);  they will puree the potato and skins.  I used a regular blender.

As the big day approaches I am planning out our party for February 3, 2013.  It will consist of grape jello for the 5 year old, grape soda for the teenagers, purple potato soup for the adults and a whole table full of finger foods.  We love dips and finger foods on game day.

I will list a few of our favorites that can be found on the blog:

Purple Potato Chips

Jalapeno Popper Dip

Pizza Dip

Steak Spring Rolls


Broccoli Bites


Artichoke and Goat Cheese Mushroom Caps


Avocado Fries


Gyoza

Puff Pastry Buffalo Appetizer


Caprese Salad on a Stick


Reuben Dip

Maryland Blue Crab Dip


The purple potato, it turns out, is quite good for you.  I did some searching and learned that the benefits of eating them can add value to your diet by adding valuable antioxidants.  I found this article helpful in learning about them a bit more, I hope you do too.   GO HERE.

I served the soup in a set of espresso cups that I bought at an antique store. They were the perfect size for a sip or two and the little handle allowed them to be consumed without a spoon.  I also served a cold asparagus spear in each cup along with a piped sour cream heart.  You may want to consider something other than the heart on game day, maybe #1 or and "R" for Ravens.

The final note about this soup is that it can be made thick or thin.  I used the water that the potatoes were boiled in to blend the soup, added the few extra ingredients and to thin the soup,  I added cream.  The more cream you add the thinner and lighter purple the soup becomes.  We preferred ours to be creamy and thick.


Recipe: Purple Potato Soup


1 small bag of purple potatoes, washed and quartered

2 cups of water

2 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup of red onion, diced

1/2 teaspoon of minced garlic

1/2-1 cup of heavy cream

Salt and pepper

Garnish: sour cream, asparagus top, chives, parmesan cheese, bacon, etc....

In a medium pot, add water and chicken broth.

Add purple potatoes and red onion. Bring to a boil and cook until tender.

Puree potatoes/onions with garlic and water/chicken broth until smooth. If using a blender, be very careful about adding hot liquid and sealing the lid. I suggest, tilting the lid, cover the top with a kitchen towel and slowly start blender.

While blending, add enough cream to achieve the consistency you desire.

Taste and season with salt and pepper. I always find it needs more salt than you would think.

Store soup, until ready to use, in an air tight container.  To reheat, simmer on the stove until warmed through.

Asparagus spears were easy to make. I added them to a microwave safe bowl with an inch of water and laid the spears on the bottom.  Cooked on high for 4 minutes.  Ran them under cold water, cut them to the size I needed, sprinkled them with salt and stored them in the fridge until I needed them.  Do not over cook them or they won't stand tall in the serving bowl.

The sour cream was placed in a bag with the corner snipped and piped onto the hot soup right before I served them.



Written by Sherron Watson











4 comments:

  1. I love this! I'm a maniacal Ravens fan (I cannot freaking wait for next Sunday!) and purple potato soup is genius. Have fun at your Superbowl party and go #52!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sunday is going to be AWESOME! I am wishing you the same for your party…fun fun and a win would be great!

      Delete
  2. Hi Sherron! LOVE this recipe. About how many servings would you say it made?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good Morning Mary- I think as a main dish, it could serve about 5 adults, give or take. My family is 5 and we could have eaten the whole batch if not for the bread I served with it.

      Delete

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