Hasselback Potatoes

Hasselback potatoes, sometimes called accordion potatoes, were first introduced in the 1940s at the Hasselbacken restaurant in Stockholm, Sweden. This dish is beautiful to look at, simple to make, and delicious.  When cooked this way the potatoes are crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside. Like a French fry and a baked potato had a baby.

You can alter these to suit any taste. You could peel the potato if you like.  Instead of butter and bacon fat, you can use olive oil, duck fat, margarine, or any fat you have on hand.  You could also add a variety of chopped herbs with or instead of the garlic. Instead of inserting bacon at the end, you could insert cheese.  And you could change the flavor up by using different potatoes.  You could even do this to sweet potatoes.

Hasselback Potatoes

Servings: 4-6

Time:  Prep: 15 minutes;  Cooking:  60-75 minutes
Hardware:  Cutting board and knife, wooden spoons or wooden chopsticks, a skillet, 2 bowls,  8 x 11.5 glass baking dish

Ingredients:

• 6 medium potatoes, I used Yukon gold per guest  
• 2 tablespoons + 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 8 cloves pf garlic
• 6 slices of thick cut bacon
• Salt & Pepper
• Coarse ground sea salt for finishing

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375 ˚
2. Cook the bacon until crisp.  Crumble it into a bowl.  Set aside.  Reserve 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat.
3. Dice the garlic as small as possible.
4. Scrub the potatoes.   Slice the potatoes crosswise (like you would slice a hard-boiled egg) into ¼ inch (or smaller) slices. Don’t cut all the way through, leave about ½ inch of the potato intact.  You can use wooden chopsticks or a wooden spoon laid beside the potato to help you not cut through.
5. GENTLY separate the slices.  You don’t want to break the potatoes. Place them in the baking dish and insert garlic between the slices. Drizzle the bacon fat and 2 tablespoons of the butter over the potatoes. Salt and pepper to taste.
6. Bake until the potatoes are soft inside, 45 minutes to 1 hour. About 10 minutes before the potatoes are finished, insert the bacon between the potato slices and drizzle with more butter.
7. Finish the potatoes with coarse salt. Serve hot.

I am serving this with Pork Loin Wrapped in Pancetta and Dijon Roasted Cauliflower for Thanksgiving.


Crispy like a French fry
Creamy like a potato