Accordion / Hasselback Potatoes

Named after the Stockholm restaurant that first introduced them in the 1700s, "Hasselback Potatoes", adopted as "Accordion Potatoes" by other European cuisines, provide an elegant alternative to baked potatoes.

I reckon the name "Accordion Potatoes" is better - more descriptive and free of any reminders of David Hasselhoff.

When properly made, the potato should have opened like the folds of an accordion into a fan shape.

This looks like a very fancy side dish, but is actually easy to do. Definitely a unique way to serve potatoes.

This Accordion Potato Recipe is a truly rustic side. Cut thinly like fans, these potatoes will crisp up but still have soft interiors. White or waxy potatoes keep their shape when roasted.

Let's hear what Nigella Lawson has said about Accordion / Hasselback Potatoes:

"I think of these Swedish roast potatoes as being rather like sauteed potatoes on the stem: each one is cut into think slices across almost right through, but not quite, and then roasted in buttery oil; as they cook, the potatoes fan out, like slightly fleshy crisps with their bottoms still attached. Traditionally, maincrop potatoes are used, but I love these made with new potatoes, too; in which case, Charlotte or Ratte, which are waxy-fleshed and taperingly oval in shape, are best. If you are using maincrop potatoes, avoid those huge floury monsters; moderately proportioned Cara potatoes, or similar, would be just fine for the job.

The advantage of using new potatoes is that they take less time to cook, but the disadvantage is that they take longer to prepare. Finely slicing a lot of little potatoes is a much more fiddly exercise. But whatever size of potato you're using, the important thing is not to cut the whole way through. I find the easiest way of doing this is by putting the potato in a bowl of a wooden spoon while I slice it; the outer edges of the spoon - if you understand what I mean - prevent you being able to get your knife right through to the bottom of the potato which is cradled in it, so you couldn't botch the job even if you wanted to. The potato has to fit in the spoon for this to work, so use a larger one for maincrop potatoes, small one for new potatoes. It's as simple as that.

If you want to peel the potatoes, do, but I find it isn't necessary. And if I buy those shinny, pebbly supermarket ones, I don't even scrub them."

Accordion / Hasselback Potatoes
(Adapted from Nigella Lawson's Forever Summer)
Serves 6

Ingredients

18 medium oval-shaped potatoes, about 125 g each, or 36 new potatoes, approx 60 g each (I used Kipfler Potatoes)
45 g butter
5 tbsp olive oil
salt

Method

1. If you are using the larger potatoes, preheat the oven to 210C; for roasting new potatoes, preheat to 200C.
2. Put each potato, in turn, in the bowl of a wooden spoon, like you would carry an egg in an egg-and spoon race, and cut across at about 3mm intervals.
3. When you've cut them all, put the baking tin on the hob with the butter and oil and heat up till sizzling.
4. Turn the potatoes well, putting them in upside down (ie, cut side down) first, then the right side up, and spoon the fat over them.
5. Sprinkle each potato well with salt and put in the oven: cook the large potatoes for about an hour and 10 minutes, testing to see whether the flesh is soft (you may need another 10 minutes for this); 40 minutes should be fine for the new potatoes.
6. Transfer to a warmed plate, and serve.