Hasselback potatoes
{{Short description|Swedish baked potato dish}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2016}}
Hasselback potatoes or Potato à la Hasselbacken (Swedish: hasselbackspotatis) are baked potatoes cut about halfway through into thin, fan-like slices. Hasselbacking is done to a fruit or vegetable to create artful-looking food while adding more flavor.{{Cite web |title=How to Hasselback Anything—This Nifty Technique Makes It Easy |url=https://www.thespruceeats.com/how-to-hasselback-4769309#:~:text=Hasselbacking%20is%20accomplished%20by%20creating%20thin%20cuts%20crosswise,1950s%20at%20a%20restaurant%20called%20Hasselbacken%20in%20Sweden. |access-date=2024-10-20 |website=The Spruce Eats |language=en}} This creates a crispy outside while allowing the flavors to penetrate the potato, leaving the inside fluffy.{{Cite web |last=James |title=What Are Hasselback Potatoes? (A Delicious Side Dish Explained) |url=https://vegpursuits.com/what-are-hasselback-potatoes/ |access-date=2024-10-18 |website=vegpursuits.com |language=en-US}} They can be served as a main course,{{cite news|last1=Steafel|first1=Eleanor|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/recipes/0/tonights-dinner-rarebit-hasselback-potatoes-pink-pickled-onions/|title=Rarebit hasselback potatoes with pink pickled onions recipe|date=12 November 2019|work=The Telegraph|access-date=11 February 2020}} a side dish, or canapé.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/poachedturbotwithale_87816|title=Poached turbot with hasselback potatoes|last1=Myers|first1=Dave|author-link1=Dave Myers (presenter)|website=BBC Food|language=en|access-date=11 February 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/hasselback_bacon_61171|title=Hasselback potatoes|website=BBC Food|language=en|access-date=11 February 2020}} Various toppings, such as caraway seeds, paprika, cheese, bacon, and breadcrumbs, can be added for extra flavor. Some recipes call for stuffing the toppings between the slices, while others are added closer to the end of the baking process.{{Cite web |last=D'Artagnan |date=2017-01-06 |title=Classic Dish: Hasselback Potatoes |url=https://center-of-the-plate.com/2017/01/06/classic-dish-hasselback-potatoes/ |access-date=2024-10-24 |website=Center of the Plate {{!}} D'Artagnan Blog |language=en}}
Techniques
One technique to achieve Hasselback potatoes is to place chopsticks on both sides of the potato. This allows a stopping point for the knife, so the potato is not fully cut through. The same can be achieved by placing the potato in the bowl of a wooden spoon. Adding olive oil or butter to the outside of the potato allows for a golden caramelized top.{{Cite web |title=How to Hasselback Anything—This Nifty Technique Makes It Easy |url=https://www.thespruceeats.com/how-to-hasselback-4769309#:~:text=Fat%20is%20key%20when%20you%20are%20hasselbacking.%20You |access-date=2024-10-23 |website=The Spruce Eats |language=en}}
Origins
Hasselback potatoes get their name from the restaurant Hasselbacken in Stockholm, Sweden. Hasselback is the Swedish word for "hazel slope", as the restaurant was located near a thicket of hazel trees on a steep mountain.{{Cite web |title=How to Hasselback Anything—This Nifty Technique Makes It Easy |url=https://www.thespruceeats.com/how-to-hasselback-4769309#:~:text=Hasselbacking%20is%20accomplished%20by%20creating%20thin%20cuts%20crosswise,1950s%20at%20a%20restaurant%20called%20Hasselbacken%20in%20Sweden. |access-date=2024-10-24 |website=The Spruce Eats |language=en}} In 1953, student chef Leif Elison served the dish, and it was a hit. Later, in 1955, credit for the recipe went to the principal of the restaurant school.{{Cite web |last=D'Artagnan |date=2017-01-06 |title=Classic Dish: Hasselback Potatoes |url=https://center-of-the-plate.com/2017/01/06/classic-dish-hasselback-potatoes/ |access-date=2024-10-18 |website=Center of the Plate {{!}} D'Artagnan Blog |language=en}} However, there is a recipe for “Oven Fried Potatoes” in the 1936 cookbook Prinsessornas Kokbok by Jenny Åkerström,{{Cite book |last=Akerstrom |first=Jenny |title=Prinsessornas kokbok: Husmanskost och helgdagsmat |publisher=Bonnier |year= |location=Stockholm |publication-date=1936}} leaving the question of who served them first.