I’m a fan of potatoes. I love them fried, mashed, and broiled. You can top them with butter, toss them with spices, and mix them in with my casseroles — I’ll eat ’em.
But, despite my love for potatoes, when you get right down to it, we don’t have potatoes too often. Instead we have rice, pasta, quinoa and other grains. And, when we do have potatoes, I opt for red-skinned potatoes, creamers, or fingerling for creating something other than a traditional baked potato. (I know, the Hasselback isn’t a traditional baked potato, but it is a variation on one).
When I was a kid, the russet was a staple in our house. We had baked potatoes at least once a week. On occasion, my grandmother would make twice baked potatoes (YUM!!), and from time to time, is was the hasselback. We never called them hasselbacks – maybe we referred to them as baked and sliced potatoes (Heck, I don’t remember). But, it doesn’t matter what they were called, it was how they tasted is what’s important.
Crispy on outside, tender on the inside, hasselback potatoes are a cross between roasted and baked potatoes. What seemed like such an exotic (or out of the ordinary) preparation, was, simply put, an easy way to cook.
All that is required is a bit of butter or olive oil, or add seasoning – paprika, garlic, or any favorite herb combination – put in the oven and let them back up until perfectly done.
Despite my enjoyment of the hasselback, I haven’t made them in ages. I’m not sure if I just never thought about it, or if I was simply lazy, and didn’t want to deal with them.
But then, in the mail one day, I received a little gadgt that would help make hasselbacks so easy: The Scanwood Hasselback.
Generally, I don’t like to clutter up my small kitchen with single-use tools and appliances that I will only use on occasion. But, this one small gadget may require me to make an exception.
I gave it a test drive, and was pretty impressed with how this simple design made it foolproof to create the slits in the potato. My kids even got into the act. (Although, I would recommend that you make your own judgements on whether your kids are responsible enough to wield a knife).
The simple design features a thin wooden block with a generously sized indentation to hold the potato. By placing the potato in, and slicing crossways through the potato, the knife stops naturally at the right position – to ensure you never cut totally through the potato.
In just a few seconds, they’re ready for the oven. And soon, they’re ready to eat!
