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Hasselback Potatoes With Garlic-Paprika Oil
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- Total Time
- 1 hour 15 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 8large Idaho or other large russet potatoes, about 1 pound each
- ⅔cup extra-virgin olive oil or a neutral oil like grapeseed
- 4plump garlic cloves, smashed, peeled and left whole
- 1tablespoon sweet paprika
- 1teaspoon smoked paprika (optional)
- Kosher or coarse sea salt
Preparation
- Step 1
Place whole unpeeled potatoes in a pot. Cover with cold water by at least 2 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat. As soon as water boils, set a timer and cook potatoes for 10 minutes. Drain, cover with cold water, and let cool to room temperature. (This can be done up to 1 day ahead. Do not refrigerate.)
- Step 2
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Combine oil, garlic and paprika in a bowl or measuring cup. Have a pastry brush ready.
- Step 3
Place a potato on a large spoon. Use a sharp knife to make ⅛-inch-thick slices in the potato, crosswise, without cutting through the bottom, so potato remains intact. The sides of the spoon will prevent the blade from going too far down. (Or, rest potato on counter and line up a chopstick on each side to block the knife.) Don’t worry if the potato skin starts to shred; it will look fine after baking. Repeat with remaining potatoes.
- Step 4
Place potatoes on a piece of foil and brush generously with the paprika oil, using fingers to separate slices and let oil drip down. Sprinkle with salt, making sure that it gets between the slices.
- Step 5
Place on a baking sheet and bake 20 minutes. Remove from oven and brush again with oil. Use oven mitts to gently squeeze potato and open up the slices. Sprinkle again with salt. Bake 10 to 20 minutes more, until potatoes are cooked through. Serve whole or half potatoes.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
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.
First time with this recipe after being underwhelmed with others. Very, very good! After the boiling and cooling, the russets were sliced in quarter inch thicknesses. Oiled on top and between each slice then baked for 35 mintues (20 then repeated oiling then 15 minutes more). The potatoes fanned out beautifully and were topped with usual baked potatoes additions. Will make again, it’s the best hasselback recipe that I’ve tried. Thanks
Did not think they were worth the trouble. Would have preferred a nice fluffy baked. Agree with Figaro from 5 years ago - bland, soggy and not worth the effort. Think I'll try Fondant potatoes next
Look at rec from Figaro in comments - looks interesting. This was a nice change but too much work for the results
Mix salt with oil before applying oil to potatoes.
Delicious! Had a little trouble with getting the oil between the slices & am wondering if there are any tricks people know about how to make that more effective?
Pleasant but not spectacular. I used bacon fat and fresh rosemary, but no smoked paprika as our guests don't like spice. They actually could use a bit more punch. I think I will add parmesan next time.
Heavily salted water.
Used boneless skinless thighs 35min
It sounds good but at the end of the recipe it was underdone.
Can you do this with sweet potatoes? Has anyone tried?
I've made this recipe without boiling first. Bake for an hour. Boiling made the potatoes too squishy and they stuck together instead of fanning out.
Only three stars as no where near as good as my usual Hasselback recipe made with red spuds. They were moist like a baked potato, not the expected crispness. A big disappointment to my Danish husband for our Thanksgiving dinner. I will be returning to my classic metho of preparation taught to me by my husband.
Found the taste too smoky. Couldn't get the oil between the slices to moisten, so it came out dry.* I've made a similar potato for years. It involves a peeled potato, cut the same way, parboiled the same way, and salt and peppered, roasted in butter for one hour at 350. After roasting, it's sprinkled with paprika.
My mom made these using medium or large potatoes; the larger ones are sliced length-wise and placed flat side down. Salt, pepper and smoky paprika. Placed in a pan and cooked with a rib roast or chicken produces the most incredible potato you will ever have the pleasure of eating. Roast low and slow, and baste with the pan juices.
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.
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