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New Potato Season  

Late summer and early fall are the main potatoes season and the time when potatoes taste the most delicious before they get “cured” for winter storage. Old-fashioned varieties of heirloom potatoes have different colors but also distinctive tastes. It is fun to search for them at local farmers’ markets and let your taste buds experience them. 

I always cook and use my potatoes with the skin on unless I am making mashed potatoes for a fancy dinner because most of the potatoes’ nutrients are actually in the skin, which contains about half of a potato’s dietary fiber.  

Purple potatoes are the most nutritious variety, especially rich in polyphenol antioxidants, the same type of antioxidants found in blueberries and blackberries. They are also rich in phytochemicals, powerful antioxidants, calcium and B complex vitamins, vitamin C, and fiber. 

With Caraway Seeds

Toward the end of the winter, when potatoes are older and exposure to light has caused them to sprout, the best way to cook them is with caraway seeds that neutralize the natural toxins, solanine, and chaconine contained in the sprouts. For this reason, also do not store potatoes and onions together. To retain nutrients, cooked potatoes should never be left standing in the cooking water but should be strained as soon as possible.

The Secret of Resistant Starch 

Potatoes are nutritious, but they also have a high glycemic index, which can cause blood sugar to spike (with the exception of purple potatoes or cooled potatoes). The principle behind cooling potatoes before eating is the principle of resistant starch. The cooking and cooling of starches make them resistant to rapid digestion and prevent a blood sugar spike.     

Learn more interesting facts about potatoes here: 

Cooked multi-color new potatoes in a white dish

Light Potato Salad

Magda Born
Late summer and early fall are the main potatoes season and the time when potatoes taste the most delicious before they get “cured” for winter storage. Old-fashioned varieties of heirloom potatoes have different colors but also distinctive tastes. It is fun to search for them at local farmers’ markets and let your taste buds experience them. 
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Course Side Dish

Ingredients
  

  • Variety of heirloom potatoes
  • 1 Red onion
  • 2 Tbs Olive oil
  • 2 Tbs Pickling vinegar
  • Fresh or frozen dill weed
  • Pickle slices (optional)

Instructions
 

  • Gather the ingredients.
    Potato salad ingredients sitting on a marble counter
  • Boil potatoes whole, with their skins on, until done but not overcooked.
  • Let them cool until able to touch; while still warm, slice or cut in quarters, depending on the size of the potatoes.
  • Add olive oil and about 2 tablespoons of pickling vinegar which give the salad a rich, complex flavor. Mix well but be careful not to break the potatoes (this is why not overcooking them is important).
  • Add pickle slices and dill. Gently mix again. Enjoy as a side dish. 

Magda Born

mborn@kckpl.org

Community Services Librarian

Kansas City, Kansas Public Library

625 Minnesota Ave.

Kansas City, KS 66101

913-295-8250 ext 1103

Resources: 

Simply Real Eating book cover

Simply real eating: everyday recipes and rituals for a healthy life made simple 

Book Call Number: 641.5973 ADLER

Inspiralized and Beyond book cover

Inspiralized and Beyond: spiralize, chop, rice, and mash your vegetables into creative, craveable meals  by Ali Maffucci

Eat Your Way to a Healthy Heart book cover

Call Number: 641.65 MAFFUCCI

Eat your way to a healthy heart: tackle heart disease by changing the way you eat, in 50 recipes  by Dale Pinnock

Book Call Number: 641.5631 PINNOCK