Hasselback Potatoes

I love Hasselback potatoes. I was introduced to them at dinner a few years back, and that was it, I was hooked. A little crispy on the outside, smooth and soft on the inside, I make them with butter and garlic, delicious. My preference is to make them with red potatoes. Reds cook up creamier, and, add some color to the plate. Making them, although requiring some precision cutting, is pretty simple, and, as with a lot of cooking, there is a preparation trick. When it comes down to the cooking part, I like to keep things pretty simple, butter, garlic, salt and pepper.

The name is a little strange, and, by that there hangs a tale. The story goes that they were first made in a restaurant called Hasselbaken in Stockholm, Sweden in 1953. The restaurant is still open and is very proud of it’s heritage. Feel free to visit it here. However, a recipe for oven fried potatoes that describes a Hasseback potato was in a Swedish cookbook Prinsessornas Kokbok (The Princess Cookbook) in 1929. The book was written by Jenny Åkerström who ran a domestic school (a school for future wives, no comment on that) during the early 1900’s. Amongst her students were three Princesses, hence the name. Maybe one of her students married the chef at the restaurant.

Well, back to the Hasselback potatoes. The object here is to slice the potato very thinly, but not all the way through and bake it. While baking apply a topping, in my case butter and garlic, this will seep between the slices of the potato creating a wonderful flavor throughout the potato.

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What is needed is a very sharp knife and a way to prevent you from cutting all the way through The trick is to place two wooden spoons on the cutting board and place the potato between the handles. This will prevent the knife going all the way through, because the handles are in the way. The cuts should be very close to each other, no more than 1/8 inch. Do as many potatoes as you need for the amount of people eating, approximately two per person.

I had mentioned a simple topping for the potatoes of garlic and butter. I like to use my mortar and pestle for this, it gives a creamier finish. If you don’t have one, chop your garlic really fine, add some salt and pepper, soften you butter in the microwave and mix everything very well in a bowl. Preheat the oven to 375. Place the potatoes in an oven dish, cover with a little of the garlic butter mixture and put them in the oven. As the potatoes cook they will open up somewhat, and, that’s when you add more of the butter garlic mixture, add frequently and baste frequently. They’re gonna need to cook about 45 mins, or until done

And, that is it, your Hasselback potatoes are done, serve as a side to your favorite dish, Thank you for reading and enjoy dinner.