When I asked for suggestions of what to make with my CSA haul from last week, reader Emma responded with a great idea for using my pretty purple potatoes: the Peruvian Purple Potato Soup from Appetite for Reduction. With the temperatures dropping and autumn approaching, soup sounded mighty fine to me. I was excited to see how gorgeous my pretty purple potatoes were on the inside. They certainly were striking on the outside:

S is taking up hand modeling.

I’ve eaten bona-fide blue-slash-purple potatoes before, so I know what they should look like on the inside. And, friends, it ain’t this:

Pale potatoes.

Quelle surprise! My purple potatoes weren’t purple at all! Alas – they were just regular ol’ taters masquerading in more appealing skins. However, I did not let their [admittedly disappointing] pale innards sway me from my desire for soup; I soldiered on with the recipe as written. And even though the results were nowhere near as striking as they would’ve been otherwise, this soup was still a flavorful, filling delight.

100% not purple.

Don’t let its rather lackluster appearance fool you – this is a truly tasty soup. The lime, chili peppers, and cilantro (even though I had to use dried!) made for more vibrant flavors than one typically finds with potato-based soups. I made sure to puree about half of it, so that there were still some potato chunks to contrast with the otherwise smooth texture. S and I were both pleasantly surprised with our meal, and it’s definitely going on my make-again list.

Next time, though, I’ll use truly purple potatoes.