How to make Hasselback Potatoes with easy tips for cutting, stuffing and roasting the best Hasselback Potatoes.
Potatoes
Potatoes are one of those fabulous vegetables we could eat all by itself; roasted, boiled, grilled or fried.
Potatoes are hard not to love simply because they are versatile and they accommodate just about any flavor or ingredient you want to put with them.
Potatoes were the first food I fed my children when they were just starting to eat food (and not just milk), and will probably be the last food we eat before departing this world LOL!
Various Ways To Cook Potatoes
Roasted Potatoes, skin on, are about the easiest way to cook a potato. Toss those scrubbed potatoes in olive oil, coarse salt and some fresh rosemary and you could eat potatoes this way just about everyday.
Oven Roasted Rosemary Potatoes are another great way to enjoy the nourishing ‘skins left on’ a potato and not have the potatoes swimming in oil the way oil fried potatoes leave them.
The oven is set to 450, potatoes sliced to the desired size, tossed in a little olive oil, not much, salted and let them crisp up in the oven.
And, where would comfort food be without good ole mashed potatoes! Peeled, boiled, seasoned and whipped into fluffy white clouds of deliciousness! But you didn’t stop by here to talk potato, you are here in search of the fabulous Hasselback potato TIPS!
What Is A Hasselback Potato Anyway?
A Hasselback potato is the best thing since sliced bread, literally! Lots and lots of thin slices, three-quarters the way through a large potato, stuffed with anything you want, roasted and served as a main course or side dish.
Oddly enough, this potato technique was first created back in the 50’s (why are we just hearing about it now!), in a restaurant in Sweden. The name of the restaurant it was created in, was Hasselbacken. The name for the style of preparation for the potato, remained.
What Is The Easy Tip For Slicing A Hasselback Potato?
Chopsticks! Good ole wooden chopsticks! Oh sure, you can purchase an adorable little wooden contraption for cutting the potato for about twenty bucks, or you can use some of those ‘carry out Chinese food’ chopsticks with a flat edge.
The tricky part about preparing Hasselback potatoes is in the cutting. Lots and lots of thinly sliced cuts into the potato that don’t go all the way through.
The first time I tried cutting the potato to prepare them for this dish I kept cutting all the way through. Not intentionally, the cut just wasn’t precise enough and the knife went all the way through.
Wooden Chopsticks
Here I was, working with a sharp knife, a big ole potato and I was in ‘want’ of precision? My knife skills are not all that! I needed a trick, a sure-fix solution to this problem.
Then, I decided I needed a guard, something that would keep the knife from cutting all the way. Chopsticks! I always have lots of chopsticks around my kitchen. I tried round chopsticks but they slid. Then I tried those cheap old flat wooden sticks. Perfect!
The cheap, unfinished wooden chopsticks you get with carry-out Chinese food worked the best. Make sure to toss a few, still wrapped in paper, into your utensil drawer!
How To Slice and Prep The Potato?
Prepping these potatoes is easy, a little tricky but easy.
- Lay the scrubbed spud on a wooden chopping board
- Place a chopstick on each side of the base of the potato
- Make certain to have the fat end of the chopstick as your cutting guide
- Make equal width slices down to the chopstick
- Set the sliced potato onto a square of foil cut for each individual potato
- Stuff, wrap, roast
What To Stuff In A Hasselback Potato?
What to stuff inside the potato slices can be as varied as the many ways we all like our potatoes. Since each potato gets individual wrapped for baking, the stuffing will remain inside the bundles and can be individually prepared with a variety of fillings.
If stuffing with meats, you will want to precook the meat, or by all means, use leftovers! Roasted peppers are great in between the slices. Thinly shaved veggies, such as Brussels sprouts, broccoli of carrots don’t have to be pre-cooked since they will steam inside the potato.
My first recipe for making these potatoes continues to be my favorite. Simple, well seasoned and lots of coarse salt. The potato remains the star and this makes for a great side to any protein you want to serve.
Ingredients Needed
- Russet Potato
- Butter
- Olive oil
- Coarse Salt
- Rosemary
Equipment Needed
- Wooden chopsticks
- Cutting board
- Sharp knife
- Baking sheet pan
- Parchment paper
- Basting brush
- Oven
How To Make HASSELBACK POTATOES
Course: Side DishesCuisine: EuropeanDifficulty: Easy1
servingsThinly sliced, roasted potatoes with a crunchy exterior and creamy baked interior.
Ingredients
Olive oil – 1/2 teaspoon
Butter – 1/2 tablespoon, melted
Rosemary – 1 stalk of fresh rosemary, chopped
Coarse salt – to tast
Russet Potato – 1 per person
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400
- Place a chopstick on each side of the potato. Slice quarter-inch to half-inch sections down to the chopsticks (they keep you from slicing all the way through).
- Lay the potato on parchment paper or foil large enough to wrap the potato in.
- Drizzle the melted butter and olive oil between the slices. Place chopped rosemary between the slices and finish with salt.
- Wrap the bundles shut. Place on a baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes. Open the bundles slightly and roast another 15 minutes.
Notes
- When adding cheese, wait until the last 15 minutes of roasting time, sprinkle in the cheese and let it melt into the slices.
I believe the table... that place that draws people to gather, is the most powerful symbol of togetherness. All that happens before the table is set, the planning, the gathering, the preparing, are all an intricate part of the dance that create the mood of celebration to share with friends and loved ones.
