Hasselback Potatoes

The hasselback potato is clearly the most impressive spud to ever call itself a side dish. It’s also like having all of your potato dreams come true at once. These potatoes have the crispy edges of your favorite french fries, but with middles as creamy as mashed potatoes.

Want one more reason to make them tonight? How about the fact that despite their frilly fancy-pants appearance, hasselback potatoes take no more time and little more effort than baked potatoes.

Make a few hasselback potatoes for a family dinner or a whole sheet pan of them for a dinner party. The recipe here is for four potatoes, but you can certainly multiply that for a crowd. Here’s how to make them.

• They’re a delicious twist to baked potatoes. Hasselback potatoes are essentially baked potatoes in a clever (and delicious!) disguise.
• They’re perfect with any meal. Any dinner — big or small, casual or fancy — can only be improved with the addition of hasselback potatoes.

We can thank the Swedes — and the chefs at Restaurant Hasselbacken, in particular — for the invention of this particular style of potato. They’re sometimes called accordion potatoes or pillbug potatoes. Whatever you call it, the result is the same – a hasselback potato is a single potato, sliced into thin wedges but left joined at the bottom, baked until the layers fan out into rounds of crispy bliss.

• Potatoes: Any type of potato will do. We love Yukon golds for this, but you can also use russets, red potatoes, or even tiny new potatoes.
• Olive oil or butter: You can use olive oil, melted unsalted butter, or a combination of both.

1. Heat the oven. Arrange a rack in the bottom third of the oven and heat to 425°F.
2. Cut slits in the potatoes, leaving the bottom intact. Cut parallel slits into each potato, stopping just before you cut through so that the slices stay connected at the bottom of the potato. Space the slices 1/8-inch to 1/4-inch apart.
3. Brush the potatoes with half the fat. Arrange the potatoes in a baking dish. Brush the potatoes all over with 2 tablespoons of olive oil or melted butter, including the bottoms. Sprinkle the potatoes generously with kosher salt and black pepper.
4. Bake 30 minutes, then brush with more fat. Bake the potatoes for 30 minutes. At this point, the layers will start separating. Remove the pan from the oven and brush the potatoes again with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil or melted butter — you can nudge the layers apart if they’re still sticking together.
5. Bake another 30 to 40 minutes. Bake until the potatoes are crispy on the edges and easily pierced in the middles with a paring knife, 30 to 40 minutes. If you’re adding any extras, stuff those into the slits and sprinkle over the top 5 to 10 minutes before the end of cooking.
6. Serve immediately. These potatoes are best straight from the oven while the edges are at their crispiest.

You can swap out the olive oil or melted butter for duck fat, bacon fat, or coconut oil.

• Cheese: Use any type of shredded cheese, like cheddar, smoked gouda, or havarti.
• Fresh herbs: Minced fresh herbs like parsley, oregano, dill, or thyme all work well here.
• Bacon: Crumbled, crispy bacon is always a good idea.

Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

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