Hasselback Potatoes: This Sexy Spud's Play-By-Play | Tuesday's Tip of the Day
Melissa's Produce Fingerling Potatoes | Photo: Tiffany Lewis
Hasselback potatoes are all the rage right now! Show-stopping, jaw-dropping, spectacular “how the heck do you do that” kind of rage. The best part, although so sophisticated to the eye, is that they are easy to make and just require a few tools and steps before the oohh’s and aahh’s set in. And, if you find that your giving yourself high fives–because if anyone else was there they would be the receiving end of your excitement–I don’t blame you one bit! Now, come join me on this hasselback bandwagon and let’s get cook’n!
Where does the name hasselback come from? Although football legend Matt Hasselbeck may enjoy potatoes, the credit goes to the “Swedes — and the chefs at Restaurant Hasselbacken, in particular — for the invention of this particular style of potato. They also sometimes go under the name Accordion Potatoes or (my favorite) Pillbug Potatoes. Whatever you call it, the result is the same: a single potato, sliced into thin wedges but left joined at the bottom, baked until the layers fan out into rounds of crispy bliss.” - TheKitchn
Definition: First of all, I should make one note…hasselback potatoes are easy to make but require a little time and patience. In summary, and in its’ simplest purest form, hasselback potatoes are sliced across the entire potato from one end to the other without your knife cutting all the way through the bottom of the potato. So, when you hold up the potato, it stretches like an accordion which is why some people call this style of potato an accordion potato. Simple enough, right?
What you need:
Fingerling Potato Medley, Melissa's Produce | Photo: Tiffany Lewis
- Potatoes: Yukon are my favorite, but russet, red potatoes and my personal favorite, Melissa’s Produce Fingerling Potato Medley, will all work just as well. The fingerling will take longer to prep as they are smaller and have to be done one at a time, but they are so darn cute you may just want to take the time!
Fingerling Potato Medley, Melissa's Produce | Photo: Tiffany Lewis
- Chopsticks! There are a few things that will make this easier and they involve taking an extra set of chopsticks on your next sushi takeout order. That’s right, chopsticks! Chopsticks are just thick enough that they will act as an aid when slicing your potatoes. If you think about it, chopsticks are the perfect–cheap–option for stopping your knife blade from cutting all the way through the potato and severing it in half.
- Sharp Knife: This part is important as you want to cut through your potato in smooth strokes creating even width slices across. A dull knife is not only an unsafe knife, it can make it hard to cut through…remember, this potato isn’t cooked yet.
- Patience: This may take a while, especially if you are doing the fingerlings, so pour yourself a glass of wine, tea, coffee or beverage of choice, crank the tunes and enjoy the process.
The Spud Play-by-Play:
1. Scrub your spuds with a potato scrubber.
2. Starting with one potato at a time, line up your chopsticks like guardrails, on either side of the potato.
3. Taking a sharp knife, start at one end and cut all the way across the diameter of the potato stopping when the knife hits the chopsticks. Repeat these steps, spacing ¼-inch to ½-inch apart.
4. Repeat this process with all potatoes.
5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place potatoes on top.
6. Generously drizzle oil across each potato opening the cracks to ensure oil is coating inside the slits too! Season with salt, pepper and herbs or spices of choice if using.
7. Place in preheated 425ºF oven and roast until crispy and “done.”
8. Remove, allow to cool and sit back as the praise comes flowing in!
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Cheers to starting a new tradition around The Table Together!
Sincerely,
Tiffany Lewis
Founder and true believer in the power of bringing people around The Table Together