Hassleback Potatoes

The humble spud is one of the regular low cost Carbohydrate sources we use. Pasta and Rice are regulars too. But eventually you can get a bit fed up with Roasted, boiled, chipped, mashed etc. So which not mix it up a bit? Hassleback Potatoes with Cheese melted over them?

According to Taste Magazine - “ Hasselbacking is a cooking method in which potatoes or other items are sliced not-quite-all-the-way through in thin, even layers, which can be stuffed or topped with additional flavourings. It’s a way of creating more surface area for flavours and creating additional texture. As a technique, it’s nothing new. The most widely circulated origin story is that hasselbackspotatis were first served in the 1950s at the Hasselbacken Restaurant and Hotel in Stockholm “ - I’m not sure if this is true or not, but it’s a nice story….

Our version:-

Ingredients:-

1 large Potato each
Salt & Pepper
1 generous slice of Cheddar Cheese each
Oil

Method:-

(1) With a sharp knife cut the Potato through about 90% of it’s depth, leaving enough uncut so that it will still hold together.
(2) Rub well with Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper.
(3) Drizzle with Oil.
(4) Place in a preheated oven at 180c with a roast if that’s what they are to accompany for 30 minutes.
(5) After 30 minutes lay the Cheese over the Potato and put back in the oven for a further 30 minutes or so. You want the Cheese to have melted into the cuts, bubbled and browned slightly on the skin.

We like to have 3 vegetables when we’re having a “Dinner” dinner, so a bit of flash fried Kale and some herb glazed Carrots did the trick.