I've got a roast potato confession to make.... they're always the part of a roast that I don't finish and leave most of on my plate... Blasphemous to some, but I find roast portions so big at pubs and restaurants that I'd rather eat all the meat and veg, than fill up on the roasties, despite the fact that I really like them! I normally eat one or two, and obviously, if I've cooked the roast myself, will only serve myself what I'm going to eat, so others can get their fill. But there is, as always, an exception to the rule. My absolute favourite version of roast potatoes are hasselback potatoes. They look great, taste amazing and have all that extra surface area that crisps up and gets all sorts of delicious.
If you don't know what hasselbacks are, they're the "hedgehog" potato. They're much easier to make than they look as well. You can have them with roasts, steak, fish, meat, or one of my favourite ways is one their own with salad, drizzled with loads of sauce (normally salsa verde or aioli) that you can dunk each slice of potato in.
The easiest way I've found of prepping hasselbacks is as follows:
Take 4-5 new potatoes per person. Place one potato on a chopping board between two wooden spoons running parallel, so the potato is between the wooden spoon handles. Chop the potato, til the knife hits the wooden spoon handles. This should mean you end up with a potato with slices through the top two thirds, but still all joined together at the bottom. Repeat with all the potatoes. Once all the potatoes are sliced, brush them with a mixture of olive oil and melted butter and season with plenty of salt and pepper. Cook the potatoes for 20 minutes at 200C, then remove from the oven and brush them again with the oil and butter mix, making sure to get right down inside the slices. Return to the oven for another 20 minutes, or until golden and crispy. If you're cooking them as part of a roast you can add them to the same pan as the meat to cook, if there's enough room, and they'll absorb all the delicious roasting juices.
I also like to chuck in a few cloves of garlic to the roasting pan too for even more flavour. Another way I like to do roast potatoes for Sunday roasts is to chop potatoes into 1cm squares and roast them at 200C with lots of thyme, rosemary, bay, crushed garlic, olive oil and salt, tossing them every ten minutes or so until they're beautifully golden.
Have you made hasselbacks? What's your favourite kind of roast potato?
If you don't know what hasselbacks are, they're the "hedgehog" potato. They're much easier to make than they look as well. You can have them with roasts, steak, fish, meat, or one of my favourite ways is one their own with salad, drizzled with loads of sauce (normally salsa verde or aioli) that you can dunk each slice of potato in.
The easiest way I've found of prepping hasselbacks is as follows:
Take 4-5 new potatoes per person. Place one potato on a chopping board between two wooden spoons running parallel, so the potato is between the wooden spoon handles. Chop the potato, til the knife hits the wooden spoon handles. This should mean you end up with a potato with slices through the top two thirds, but still all joined together at the bottom. Repeat with all the potatoes. Once all the potatoes are sliced, brush them with a mixture of olive oil and melted butter and season with plenty of salt and pepper. Cook the potatoes for 20 minutes at 200C, then remove from the oven and brush them again with the oil and butter mix, making sure to get right down inside the slices. Return to the oven for another 20 minutes, or until golden and crispy. If you're cooking them as part of a roast you can add them to the same pan as the meat to cook, if there's enough room, and they'll absorb all the delicious roasting juices.
I also like to chuck in a few cloves of garlic to the roasting pan too for even more flavour. Another way I like to do roast potatoes for Sunday roasts is to chop potatoes into 1cm squares and roast them at 200C with lots of thyme, rosemary, bay, crushed garlic, olive oil and salt, tossing them every ten minutes or so until they're beautifully golden.
Have you made hasselbacks? What's your favourite kind of roast potato?
Roast potatoes are my nemeses, I could probably live on them! I love hasselbacks, they do make a really nice change. Great tip with the wooden spoons, inevitably I ended up cutting through too far! <3 xxx
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