I can’t get over how fun these are to eat. I love anything that can be dipped in a dip (who doesn’t?), but somehow the cut layers of these potatoes make it all the more fun. The pieces of potatoes can be pulled apart and dunked, or you can just go for it with the whole thing. And that dill sauce!! Man, is it good. I had some leftover (I don’t know how) and had it with crab cakes the next day. It’s wonderful. You will want to put it on everything. I even did an entire post about a dill dip recipe because it’s so delicious as a stand-alone recipe. Cutting the hasselback potatoes can be a bit of a challenge, but I have a trick that helps. Basically, you want to cut slits in the potatoes about 1/8 of an inch apart but not cut all the way through, so the slices are attached. I just put a couple of chopsticks on each side of the potatoes, so my knife wouldn’t go through all the way. You can use two spatulas or wooden spoons, or anything else that will brace the potato and stop your knife.
After you cut the potatoes, it’s a simple matter of roasting with extra virgin olive oil, pepper, and plenty of salt. The number one mistake I make when cooking potatoes is not adding enough salt. They are bland little tubers and need a ton of seasoning to live up to their potential. Salt freely! As they roast, the slices of potato shrink away from each other and the edges get golden and crispy. If you want, halfway through baking, you can brush them with more olive oil or even some melted butter, so it seeps into the crevices a bit more. I didn’t do this and it’s not necessary, but if you like an extra crispy and decadent roasted potato, you might want to try it.
Here’s a great thing that I didn’t expect from this recipe: you can make them in advance and reheat! I reheated a few I had leftover as an experiment, after they were in the fridge overnight. After about 15 minutes in a 400 degree oven, they crisped up and revived themselves beautifully. So, if you are pressed for time, or need to use your oven space for other things, I recommend making these in advance and re-roasting them about 20 minutes before serving (especially because these little guys are definitely best served warm- leave the cold potatoes to potato salad or vichyssoise).
I used three special tools to make this recipe: If you like this recipe, try these Leftover Mashed Potato Cakes. Recipe for Mini Hasselback Potatoes with Creamy Dill Dip below!
