Hasselback Potatoes
Hasselbackspotatis is named for the Stockholm restaurant that made the fan-cut potato famous in the 1950s, and the shape is the whole trick: slicing a potato most of the way through, again and again, turns one smooth surface into dozens of thin edges that crisp in the oven. That normally happens in a pool of butter or oil, but the edges will brown on their own if you baste them with a flavored broth and give them time. A no-salt bouillon loosened with hot water, carrying garlic and dried herbs, seeps into every cut and glazes the tips as it reduces. Basting once early and once late is the difference between crisp and leathery. Lemon and parsley at the end keep them from needing salt.
Ingredients
- 2 lb Potatoes, medium, uniform, scrubbed
- 1 tsp no-salt vegetable bouillon
- 3 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 tsp Dried rosemary, crushed
- 1 tsp Dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp Black peppercorns, freshly ground
- 1 tbsp Lemon juice
- 2 tbsp Flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Method
- Heat the oven to 425 F (220 C). Rest each potato in the bowl of a wooden spoon and slice down at a scant quarter inch (about 5 mm) across its length; the spoon stops the knife before it cuts through, so the slices stay joined at the base. Thin, closely spaced cuts are what let the potato fan open and multiply its surface, which is where all the crisp edges come from.
- Dissolve the bouillon in 3 tablespoons (45 ml) hot water and stir in the garlic, rosemary, thyme, and black pepper. This herbed broth is the baste that replaces oil: it carries flavor down into the cuts and its moisture helps the exposed edges brown instead of drying out.
- Set the potatoes cut side up in a baking dish and spoon a little broth over each, working some between the slices. Roast 30 minutes untouched, letting the fans begin to open and set.
- Baste again with the remaining broth and any liquid in the dish, then roast another 20 to 25 minutes, until the fanned edges are deep golden and crisp and a knife slides into the center with no resistance. The second basting late in the cook is what glazes the tips brown; without it, oil-free potatoes can go pale and leathery.
- Finish with the lemon juice and parsley while hot. The squeeze of acid over the crisp edges stands in for the salt these usually carry and cuts the starch.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 180 calories, 4 g protein, 4 g fiber, 40 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
