Ingredients
4 Russet potatoes
4 garlic cloves, minced
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons finely minced herbs (I used parsley, basil and oregano, because that is what I had in the house)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425F.
Wash / Scrub the potatoes thoroughly. We’ll be leaving the skins on, so we want to make sure they are clean and all the hard bits from the skin are off. In a small mixing bowl, combine the melted butter, olive oil, garlic and minced herbs. Set aside.
Slice a thin layer off the bottom of each potato. This will serve to give them a solid base to rest on while they get sliced. Using a sharp knife, make slices across the potato, about 1/8 of an inch apart, slicing into them, but not completely through them. The slices should stay connected at the bottom. Repeat with each potato. Stretch them a bit to fan them out but be very careful not to break them apart! Trick: place a chopstick perpendicular on either side of the potato so that you will hit the chopstick before slicing all the way through.
Reserve 1/3 of the garlic-herb butter. Using a pastry brush, brush each potato with the garlic-herb butter mixture, being generous and making sure to get in between each slice. You should be able to get a bit of garlic and herb in each slit. Place potatoes on a baking sheet. Generously sprinkle potatoes with salt, pepper and Parmesan.
Bake for 1 hour or until tender on the inside and crisp on the outside. Remove the pan about every 15 minutes to baste potatoes with the remaining garlic-herb butter.
