HASSELBACK PURPLE SWEET POTATOES - How to Make these Delicious Hasselback Potatoes!

butter

🥗Healthier: olive oil

💰Cheaper: margarine

Olive oil is healthier and provides a similar richness.

parmesan cheese

🥗Healthier: nutritional yeast

💰Cheaper: grated cheddar

Nutritional yeast adds a cheesy flavor with fewer calories.

Rinse the sweet potatoes, and scrub them thoroughly with a vegetable scrub brush until completely clean. Pat them dry with paper towels, and set aside.

Smash two large garlic cloves with a large chef’s knife, then remove and discard the skins, and set aside. Peel and mince the remaining three garlic cloves, and set aside. Thinly slice ginger, and set aside 8 slices. Using a Microplane grater, finely grate fresh ginger, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside.

To a small saucepan (2 quart), add ¼ cup olive oil, smashed garlic cloves, sliced ginger, and one 5 inch sprig of rosemary. On low heat, stirring occasionally, bring to a simmer (about 3-4 minutes), and simmer for 1 minute (do not let garlic or ginger brown). Remove from heat, and let rest for 5 minutes. Strain olive oil, and reserve 1 ½ tablespoons of infused oil, and add to a small cup or bowl, and set aside. Add the remaining strained oil back into the saucepan, and set aside (off heat).

Place oven rack in the center of the oven, and preheat convection oven to 400°F (or conventional oven to 425°F). Line a baking sheet pan with parchment paper, and brush 1 teaspoon olive oil on parchment, and set aside.

Cut off and discard thin ends of each potato. With the tip of a vegetable peeler, remove any sprouts from the potatoes.

Put one potato in the center of a large cutting board, place Hasselback Chopping Sticks (½ inch) lengthwise on each side of the potato, and secure on both sides. Holding the potato and sticks with one hand, starting from one end of the potato, carefully cut ¼ inch even slices stopping ½ inch from the bottom (do not cut all the way through). Slice about half the potato, and turn the potato around to the other side, slicing from the middle to the end (this technique makes it more secure when slicing), making sure the bottom is still intact. Repeat process with other potato.

Set potatoes on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them apart. Brush 1 tablespoon of the reserved infused olive oil all over potatoes (including bottom and ends), gently dripping down in between slices. Sprinkle with ½ teaspoon kosher salt, place 1 rosemary sprig on the baking sheet in between the potatoes, and bake uncovered for 20 minutes.

Remove baking sheet from oven. Using a fork, gently fan out each slice (they will only separate slightly), and brush remaining 1 tablespoon infused olive oil in between each slice. Return to the oven, and bake for another 35-40 minutes.

During the last 5 minutes of baking, heat the remaining infused olive oil in the saucepan on low. Once hot, add minced garlic, grated ginger, and remaining ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, and sauté for 30 seconds (until fragrant - do not brown). Add honey (or pure maple syrup, or agave - mixture will bubble up), and quickly whisk until combined and honey is dissolved. Remove glaze from heat.

Remove potatoes from oven, and test for doneness by inserting the tip of a knife into the center of one of the middle slices (potatoes should be buttery-soft). Pour on hot glaze, brushing all over and in between slices. Return to the oven for 2 minutes. Sprinkle with Maldon sea salt flakes (optional). Serve hot, with pan juices spooned over the potatoes.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level:

Allergens