From Trash to Cash: Turn the Old Potatoes into Hasselbacks

The Hasselback potato recipe, although sounding like the Hunchback of Notre-Dame, has the reverse effect on your beloved vegetable: it turns an old potato with no potential into a fragrant beauty. Quite literally a beauty, I mean how photogenic are these!? You only need a handful of ingredients to make your side dish much more interesting (we know you can mash potatoes, Gladys) and, if you are hosting people you wish you weren’t (I’d just say don’t do it but we all know we sometimes don’t have a choice in the matter), at least it gives you an ice-breaker. ‘Wow these are delicious and original’ ‘Yes, some Karine chick told me about those on the Internet’. You can re-work that answer later, when you are excitingly preparing them.

I am typing this whilst watching 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas' with my (snoozing) daughter and it is bringing back tons of memories. I was indeed so obsessed with the movie growing up (anything Dr.Seuss in fact, I also had a major Cat in the Hat phase) that I built an entire miniature version of Whoville with varnished candies decorating each brightly coloured home on a large wooden plank in my bedroom- with a train driving through, nonchalant. The entire village with the surrounding mountains took forever and I was extremely proud of the result. I also tried recreating Annville from The Cat in the Hat but that's because I thought it actually existed and that I would eventually live there permanently (you know, in adulthood)- in this case I was merely the urban planner for an upcoming project. I must sadly report that I don't live there-yet.

You will need,

Rosemary (or chives, thyme, your pick!)

Sea salt (large 'pinch')

Black pepper- for taste

Olive oil (1/3 cup)

Butter (4-5 tbsp, mine was garlic and herbs)

Any old potatoes

Great helper: wooden spoons or chopsticks!

A few simple steps,

1. Stir together melted butter, oil and, if you chose a different herb such as chopped chives, add those in this part- rosemary branches are as thick as pine so you can simply insert them between potato wedges . Add salt and pepper and mix.

2. By placing your potato between chopsticks, you will be able to cut thin slices through it without ever fully cutting it (you want to leave 1/4 inch untouched).

3. Brush the mixture onto the potatoes, drizzle sea salt and place on a tray.

4. Put in the oven at around 350 degrees (it does get confusing as I use the metric system so that would be 450 F, I agree that it should be around 220 degrees then but I like my 350-go figure) for around 1 hour until golden and crispy!

P.S.: I personally never use a brush, I simply pour the oil and other ingredients and rub with my fingers (collective 'ew').