Hasselback potatoes are definitely comfort food to me! Long time followers of this page will know that I am very proud of this style of potato: back in 2015, I even won a contest with this recipe put on by the Idaho Potato Commission and if it’s one thing that Idaho knows, it’s potatoes. 🙂 These take a bit of time (usually right around an hour, although if you have larger potatoes, they can take a little longer), and they take a little bit of precision to make, but I think that they are worth it. My trick for not cutting all the way through the potato is to put a chop stick on either side o the potato so I don’t slice all the way down to the cutting board. If you aren’t a fan of garlic, you can omit it, though I do think the fresh herbs are nice in the basting butter.
Ingredients
2-4 long russet potatoes (recipe can easily be 2x or 3x, depending on number of people and pan size)
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons finely minced herbs (I used parsley and thyme, but whatever you like)
4 tablespoons grated Parmesan (optional)
Ideally, you will use a cast iron pan, but at minimum, you will need an oven-safe pan. This is very important. You will also need 2 chopsticks or pencils of the same thickness.
Directions
Preheat oven to 425F.
Wash / Scrub the potatoes thoroughly. The skins will be left on, so be sure that they are clean and all the hard bits from the skin are off. In a small mixing bowl, combine the melted butter, 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. On either side of the potato on the cutting board, lay a chop stick length-wise, parallel to the potato. This will ensure that you don’t cut all the way through the potato. Using a sharp knife, make thin 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!
Reserve 1/3 of the garlic-herb butter. Using a pastry brush, brush the bottom and sides of your cast iron skillet and each potato with the garlic-herb butter mixture, being generous and making sure to get in between each slice. Nestle the potatoes into the skillet. Sprinkle with Parmesan (if using). Generously sprinkle potatoes with salt and pepper.
Bake for 1 hour or until tender on the inside and crisp on the outside. Remove the skillet from the oven about every 15 minutes to baste potatoes with the remaining garlic-herb butter. Serve immediately.
