The hasselback potato has to be my favourite old school throw back. It’s pretty, golden and crunchy slivers hat hide the creamy interior and allow the potato to soak up so much more flavour are just the best idea ever.
You all know by now that I’m a bit of texture junky. The contrast between something crunchy and creamy is where it’s at and these potatoes are all about texture. They’re the perfect accompaniment for a crispy skinned fish, grilled steak or roast chicken and are surprisingly easy to do.
The key is a nice sharp knife, a little time and a steady hand. The thinner the space between your slices the crisper the ridges will get. i like it to be like pulling off home made crisps that turn into tender potato 1cm in. My love of potatoes is very strong. Hopefully potatoes being a perfectly healthy thing to include in your diet isn’t a shock to you, they’re full of vitamins and minerals and a great vehicle for lots of lovely spices to add more plant variety to your diet. Just make them into delicious hasselback potatoes instead of reaching for a bag of chips.
The flavour on these potatoes is so delicious. I cook them in a little stock to start with so that they stay nice and creamy on the bottom and soak up more of that flavour from the oregano and garlic spiked stock.
Serves 2-4
Ingredients
4 x potatoes (suitable variety for roasting)
1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 Tbs Za’atar spice mix
1 tsp chilli flakes
4 Tbs fresh oregano leaves
2 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 cup of salt reduced stock
2 tsp sesame seeds
Directions
Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius.
Wash potatoes, keeep the skins on, and dry well. PLace them on a chopping board and while holding steady with one hand cut slices horizontally in the potato as if you’re making crisps but do not let the knife cut all the way though, stop about 1/2 a centimetre to a centimetre before the bottom of the potato.
Once you have prepared all the potatoes rub in with the olive oil and place in a small roasting dish (about 15cm x 20cm so that the potatoes fit without touching but not with lots of extra room!) cut side up. Sprinkle with the za’atar and chilli flakes and scatter 1/2 the oregano and smashed garlic around the potatoes. Gently pour the stock into the roasting dish. It should come about 1 cm or so up the potatoes.
Transfer to the oven and roast for 1 hour. Drizzle the tops of the potatoes with a little extra oil. Turn the roasting dish around and roast for a further 30 minutes or until potatoes are crisp and golden on top. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and roast for 5 more minutes. Remove and serve sprinkled with remaining oregano leaves and a pinch of salt.
HH. x
