Baked Fan Potatoes (Hasselback-Style)
Potatoes cut into thin slices without cutting all the way through, bathed in oil and butter before going into the oven. They fan open on their own: crispy at the tips, creamy inside.
- 3 large potatoes, similar in size
- Neutral oil (for the potato bath)
- Butter (for the dish and for the potatoes)
- Salt, to taste
- Black pepper (optional)
- Fresh thyme or rosemary (optional)
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1
Square off the potatoes
Trim both ends off each potato so you're left with a cylinder with flat faces. That way they stand firm on the cutting board and the fan cuts come out even from end to end.
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2
Slice into a fan
Rest two wooden sticks (chopsticks, or the handles of two wooden spoons) alongside the potato, one on each side. With a very sharp knife, cut thin, even slices every 2 to 3 mm along the whole potato: the sticks stop the knife before it reaches the bottom, so it doesn't cut all the way through.
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3
Oil bath
As you finish each potato, drop it into a bowl with neutral oil. The oil seeps between the cuts, keeps them from oxidizing, and helps them brown evenly in the oven.
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4
Prep the dish
Brush the bottom of a baking dish generously with butter.
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5
Arrange and bake
Take each potato out of the oil, let it drain a bit, and place it in the dish with the cuts facing up. Salt on top and add thyme or rosemary if you'd like. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 1 hour, until golden outside and tender inside.
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6
Fan them out halfway through
At the 30-minute mark, open the oven and carefully spread the slices of each potato open like a fan, using a spoon to help. This lets the heat and butter get in between the cuts. Bake the rest of the time and serve hot.
- Squaring off the potatoes before slicing is what gives you the even cut: skip that step and the slices come out all different sizes.
- The two sticks on the sides are the safest way to avoid cutting all the way through by accident.
- The oil bath before baking is what helps the heat and butter get between the slices.
- With a little grated cheese in the last 10 minutes of baking, they come out even better.
- Cutting potatoes with rounded edges without squaring them off first: the fan comes out uneven
- Baking at too high a temperature: they burn outside before cooking through inside
- Not fanning them out halfway through: they stay stuck together and never fully open