And since we love baked potatoes around here, I knew I had to try it for myself and see if it was worth the extra few seconds of effort. (Literally, a few seconds... this is so easy!)
Verdict? Absolutely worth it! We all loved these potatoes so much! They are quite possibly the best potatoes we have ever had! Creamy, crunchy, fluffy, roasted, toasted... yum!
And wanna know one of the best parts? Everybody happily ate the skins too!! (One of my biggest pet peeves is wasted potato skins, since that's where most of the nutrients are!)
The garlic oil infuses the whole potato with flavor, and I am very generous with my seasonings.
[Are you wondering why they're called Hasselbacks? Hasselback potatoes (Hasselbackspotatis) are named after the restaurant in Sweden where they were invented in 1940. They were all the rage in Sweden in the 70's and 80's and lost popularity after that... though I'm not really sure why?!]
FYI - I left the amounts out of this recipe on purpose. It all depends on how many potatoes you want to bake, and it's all very flexible. Just a good drizzle of olive oil, a few pats of butter and plenty of seasoning and parmesan cheese! Do it how you like it!
*NOTES: Please please PLEASE put these on a rimmed baking sheet. So you don't catch your oven on fire!
Also, I have a new favorite way to slice the potatoes, thanks to Mary over at Barefeet in the Kitchen! Instead of placing a potato on a big wooden spoon to help slice it without cutting all the way through,... place a chopstick along each side of the potato and slice. So quick and even easier than the wooden spoon method!!
Rustic Parmesan Garlic Hasselback Potatoes Recipe
Ingredients:
potatoes, scrubbed & dried. (any kind... we like russets!)
garlic olive oil*
salt & pepper, to taste
crushed red pepper flakes
butter
freshly grated parmesan cheese
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil or parchment.
Slice the potatoes almost all the way through, about 1/4" apart. (See above for potato-slicing tips!)
Place the sliced potatoes on the lined baking sheet and drizzle generously with the garlic olive oil*. Sprinkle with lots of salt & pepper and red pepper flakes, if you like. Top the potatoes with a few smallish pats of butter each.
Bake for 45 minutes. Take the potatoes out of the oven and sprinkle generously with grated parmesan, making sure it gets into all the yummy cracks!
Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, until the potatoes are golden, cheesy and done!
*I like to buy garlic infused olive oil (at Trader Joe's). You can also make garlic olive oil easily by crushing or slicing some garlic and warming it in a small pan of olive oil on the stove for a few minutes until very fragrant. Or you can thinly slice a few cloves of garlic and stick the slices in between the slots of the potatoes before you bake them! OR, you can just use regular olive oil and skip the garlic all together! Whatever strikes your fancy!
