ROAST HASSELBACK POTATOES WITH LEMON, GARLIC & CHILLI

I’m not saying you should make these Roast Hasselback Potatoes, but I am saying that it’s a random Tuesday in December and they fit right in. A few things I would like to say. They are roasted in a sinful amount of butter… only remarkable if you are into sin and food that is. Potatoes are relatively inexpensive these days and so this isn’t going to break the bank. I use chilli flakes instead of fresh chilli, and I feel like lemon, garlic and chilli flakes are pretty much cupboard staples by now. I also recommend making them in plenty of time so they can roast away in the oven in their own little roast potato bubble, all the while filling your kitchen with delicious smells. I love garlic! And the only other thing I have to say about these is that I cut them hasselback style, and not just because it looks very pretty and is very on trend at the moment. Thankfully prepping the potatoes this way works perfectly from a cooking and all round tasting delicious perspective.

Scroll on for my recipe for these Roast Hasselback Potatoes with Lemon, Garlic & Chilli…. oh and with A LOT of butter.

Roast Hasselback Potatoes with Lemon, Garlic & Chilli

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

1kg small potatoes

100g butter

1 bulb garlic, broken into cloves

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp chilli flakes

Sea salt to season

2 tbsp finely chopped parsley to serve

Method

Preheat the oven to 200C / gas mark 6. Clean and dry the potatoes. Cut horizontal slits in the potatoes, about 2 mm thick and about two thirds of the way into the potato. Don’t cut fully through the potatoes. They should stay connected at the bottom of the potato. (It’s hard to explain in words, but just check out the pictures).

Melt the butter and add it along with the chilli flakes, lemon juice and a generous pinch of sea salt to a large bowl. Mix to combine. Add the potatoes and the garlic cloves and toss well to coat the potatoes and garlic cloves in the butter mix.

Transfer the potatoes and whole garlic cloves to a baking dish or tray. Arrange them so that the slit sides of the potatoes are face up. Brush the potatoes with the extra butter in the bowl, ensuring that it runs into space created by the slits.

Roast in the oven for 30 minutes. At this point, the slits will have started to separate. It’s time to brush the potatoes with extra butter or oil. It’s important to get the fat into the slits. Bake for another 40 minutes. The potatoes should be crispy at the edges and soft when pierced with a knife. or until roasted. If more time is required, roast for longer.

To serve, place the potatoes in the centre of the table and add finely chopped parsley. Season well with sea salt and pepper. Serve straight away.