Hasselback Potatoes With Garlic-Paprika Oil

I slice fresh garlic VERY thinly and put a slice in each fold. It keeps the folds separated a little so things crisp up nicely, plus, you know; garlic.

In theory this sounded really good. However, I found that it was bland, soggy and not worth the effort. I have to agree with the other comments.

Better idea: cut Idaho russets in half; with a sharp knife make crisscross hatches (don't go all the way through); season with salt, pepper and your favorite paprika; cover with thin pats of butter; place in baking dish; bake 1 hour @350-375⁰. We like these baked until they are crisp and very brown. This is ideal in a toaster oven.

You squeeze from the sides, not the ends. And if you dont't fan them open and drizzle in the oil and season with salt, the centers will indeed be bland.

To protect your knives, make that a wooden spoon.

1. They are good, but to get them crispy on the outside and creamy in the middle, you have to baste over and over.

2. Butter is way tastier than oil for these guys. Less healthy, of course.

Yes. Unless your kitchen is very warm, there's little danger. Cold, intact potatoes aren't exactly a magnet for any particular food spoilage microbes, and the advent of the refrigerator and attendant "modern science"-era food hygiene has given us some strange ideas about the necessity of ubiquitous refrigeration. You're not refrigerating to slow down retrogradation of the starch, I believe, which will make the potatoes hard.

Since I cook for one person, when I make the Hasselback potatoes, I use the smaller potatoes, and they bake up nicely.

Works well in the toaster oven- I did a mix of butter and olive oil, which was a nice balance. They didn't taste much different than regular roasted potatoes, but look better- good for company. My husband called them Pretentious Potatoes.

The critical component of Hasselback potatoes is crispness. The recipe as written will not work. (Even the photograph suggests incorrect cooking.)
1. Use medium potatoes, not large,
2. Use a well oiled skillet. Do not use foil.
3. 400F for 30 minutes, then add olive oil and salt. Make sure to get some between the slices. Add toppings after another 20 min, then cook 10 more.
4. Always use cheese. (eg. Cheddar or Italian hard cheese.) It caramelized--delish. Use the pan drippings elsewhere.

I used the chopstick method....if you've got potatoes of the size recommended in the recipe, no spoon fits them. And it saves your knife edge, as Fred notes below. Best way to complete fanning them, really, is one by one with a butter knife, so you can brush the oil mixture deeply into the slices. Takes a little extra time, but the results are worth it.

I was not able to squeeze the potato to fan the slices out. Presumably we're supposed to squeeze from the ends. but because my 1 lb potatoes were long and flat, squeezing didn't seem to work. I baked the potatoes for a total of one hour, and they still were under-done in the middle. Only the surface was crispy. The inside was quite bland. Maybe a smaller potato would produce better results.

No need to peel. The peels crisp up and are part of the outside crunch. If they shred a bit while cutting, don't worry about it.

We do it with sweet potatoes all the time - they taste like a cross between oven fries and roasted. (I don't usually do the 10 minute pre cook. )

"(This can be done up to 1 day ahead. Do not refrigerate.)"

Wait, you're saying you can leave partially cooked potatoes out on counter overnight?

Please make the effort to use Idaho Russet Burbank variety potatoes. They are available from mid-October until mid-September in th the NY market. The variety is printed on the carton or consumer bag tag.