Baked Potatoes Hasselback Style

How to make some Hasselback potatoes . When we talk about a perfect accompaniment to a meat, fish or vegetable dish, many of you think of potatoes or baked potatoes .

The classic way is very simple to cook baked potatoes, they are well washed with their skin, season with salt and pepper, wrap them in aluminum foil and baked for 45 minutes. A fluffy interior with crisp fur, just great.

But today we want to go a little further with these  Hasselback potatoes or accordion-roasted potatoes,  similar to the classic ones in their preparation except for the type of cut in the form of sheets.

The accordion-shaped cutting system facilitates cooking and the entry of flavors inside the potato or potato. With this recipe we manage to make the potato very crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, with a lot of nuances that we don’t get with classic baked potatoes.

The origin of this garnish dates back to 1700 and its name derives from Hasselbacken, the Stockholm restaurant that served them on its menu. It first became one of the most famous potato preparations among the people of Stockholm and Sweden, and then spread to many homes and restaurants around the world.

The popularity of the dish is often attributed to the filling that can be put between the sheets.  Hasselback potatoes admit many types of flavoring, spices such as rosemary, oregano or thyme, alone with a little butter, with garlic or different types of cheese inside the potato.

Give free rein to your imagination and vary the recipe according to your taste. They are a perfect accompaniment that will surprise your guests and that will facilitate your work in the kitchen, as there is no need to serve with a sauce on the side or other accessories. All you need is a little patience. Do you dare with them?

Preparation of these baked potatoes

1. We choose some potatoes that are good for this type of recipe. To roast in the oven, to make “bakery” potatoes or to accompany roasts, the mealy varieties are excellent, which lose their texture and remain soft, but without melting.
2. I recommend a Galician potato (Kennebec) or the Spunta variety. We should choose medium potatoes that are approximately the same size. In this way they are all done at once and there is no raw inside.
3. We wash them under the tap and brush them to remove any remaining dirt. We dry them very well with a cotton cloth or kitchen paper.
4. We have to make slices but without going through the potato completely so that none come loose. We can do it in several ways (follow the video that I show you below and you will have no doubts)
   • The first would be through the potato with a skewer, just at the base. With a very sharp knife we ​​make the sheets until the knife collides with the skewer. This prevents us from completely splitting the potato and separating it, as it acts as a stop.
   • In the second we are going to use some Chinese wooden sticks. On the cutting board we put the potato and two chopsticks on each side of it. This way we will not finish making the cut to the potato totally. Since the knife is stopped with the chopsticks.
   • The third and simplest would be to cut the potatoes into thin slices on top of a large, curved wooden spoon. The curved edge of the spoon will act as a stop. And remember that you can always go back and cut the slices a little lower if necessary.

Rolled Hasselback Potatoes

1. The sheets should be 4 to 6 millimeters thick and should be made widthwise, not lengthwise. You can see how they are by the photos of the step by step.
2. Peel the garlic and cut into very thin sheets. We insert a thin portion of garlic between the potato slices. They do not have to go at all, we can put the garlic every 3.
3. This will keep the potato slices open and will circulate the air between the openings, as well as providing plenty of flavor when roasting the garlic.
4. Another option would be to do a crush. In a mortar and pestle, crush the garlic, along with the salt, freshly ground black pepper, your favorite spices (oregano does very well) and a little bit of chilli pepper (optional).
5. When everything is very well mashed, add two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and mix well. This mash would be to replace the garlic slices between the potato and would be added on top before baking.

Baking and final presentation of Hasselback roast potatoes

1. We preheat the oven for 10 minutes at 200º C.
2. We place the potatoes on a tray and season to taste. We put a little butter on top of each one or the mashed one that we have prepared. Not both at the same time, it would taste too garlic.
3. Bake in the middle tray with top-down heat and air at about 160º C.
4. For about 35 minutes without they are medium and 45 minutes if they are large. We will check if they are made with a fork.
5. It is important that they do not burn. If we see that they start to cook, we cover them with a little aluminum foil.

When they are ready we serve them very warm. They can be an aperitif, a snack or a side dish for lunch or dinner. Crispy potatoes on the outside and tender on the inside. Great!

If you do not want to miss a detail on how to prepare this recipe for Hasselback potatoes ,   click on the photos in the step by step.