Hasselback Potatoes

Hasselback potatoes is a Swedish dish invented in the 1950’s created at the Hasselbacken restaurant in Stockholm. And they were very popular during the 70’s and 80’s, but do no deserve to be forgotten. Personally i love them for their crispy outer and creamy center.

Normally I won’t add any flavors to the butter, but fresh herbs like rosemary and thyme goes really well with the potatoes, as do garlic. If you like another flavor profile, you can use other types of fat or oil, like olive oil and duck fat.

Serves 3-4 depending on the size of the potatoes.

Ingredients:

8-10 potatoes, the size of a golf ball, I used Yukon Gold potatoes

60 g salted butter (About ½ stick)

salt

Direction:

Preheat the oven to 400℉ (200℃), and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, set a side.
Place a potato up against a handle of a wooden spoon. Slice the potato into thin slices, not cutting all the way through. The handle of the spoon helps you not slicing the whole way through. Repeat with the remaining potatoes.

Place the potatoes on the baking sheet and brush them with the melted butter, making sure to get in between all the slices. Sprinkle with salt. Bake potatoes for about 55 to 60 minutes, brush the potatoes with more butter every 20 minutes. Bake until crisp and tender.

Serve them as a side.

Enjoy!

Danish Potato Salad

Danish Potato Salad

Potato salad is a classic at danish BBQ's. Most families have their own recipes, and sometimes you just take the easy way out and use a store bought. But homemade is best. I like to have different textures in my potato salad, and the asparagus, peppers and radishes gives me just that. 

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds (ca. 1 kg) potatoes, use small firm potatoes like Fingerlings or Yukon Gold

• 2 teaspoons salt for the boiling

• 6 radishes, finely sliced

• 1 bunch scallions

• ½ cup fresh peas

• 5 asparagus, chopped

• ½ red bell pepper, diced

• ½ green bell pepper, diced

• chives

Dressing:

• 16 oz (475 ml) sour cream or creme fraiche

• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise

• ⅛ teaspoon curry powder

• 1 clove garlic

• salt & pepper

Directions:

Place the potatoes in a large pot of water. Bring the water to a boil and add the salt, then lower the heat and simmer for 15-18 minutes, until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife. It's important to start with the potatoes in cold water, this will prevent overcooking the outside of the potatoes before they are done.

Drain the potatoes and rinse in cold water. Peel the potatoes, and set aside in the refrigerator to cool completely.

Mix all the ingredients for the dressing, and set aside. 

Wash and slice/dice the vegetables. Slice the cold potatoes, and mix it all in the dressing.

Store the potatoes salad in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve it.

Enjoy!

The Danish version:

Kartoffelsalat

Ingredienser:

• ca. 1 kg kartofler, brug en fast kartoffel såsom asparges- eller samsøkartofler

• 2 tsk salt til kogevandet

• 6 radiser, skåret tyndt

• 1 bundt forårsløg

• 1 dl nybælgede ærter

• 5 asparges, skåret i stykker

• ½ rød peber, skåret i tern

• ½ grøn peber, skåret i tern

• purløg

Dressing:

• ca. 5 dl creme fraiche

• 2 spsk mayonnaise

• ⅛ tsk karry

• 1 fed hvidløg

• salt & peber

Directions:

Kog kartoflerne i en stor gryde i 15-18 minutter, indtil de er møre. Start med koldt vand og tilsæt først saltet når vandet koger. Dette bevirker at kartoflerne ikke koger ud. Hæld vandet fra kartoflerne og skyl dem med koldt vand, for at stoppe kogningen. Pil kartoflerne og sæt dem til afkøling i køleskabet.

Bland dressingen, smag til med mere ekstra salt og karry.

Vask, og skær grøntsagerne, skær kartoflerne i skiver og bland det hele i dressingen. Opbevar kartoffelsalaten i køleskabet indtil den skal serveres.

Velbekomme!

Oven-roasted potatoes

Oven-roasted Potatoes.

Potatoes has been a big part of danish dinners for hundreds of years. Potatoes was a cheap and very filing food. But during the last couple of decades the starchy component of the danes dinner been switched to more and more rise and pasta. But the potato is a healthier choice. Both pasta and rice contains twice as much starch as potatoes, and having whole wheat pasta and brown rice doesn't help.

We had potatoes on the menu 5-6 times a week at home. The potatoes were peeled, boiled and served with a brown gravy and some kind of meat.  It was pretty boring. So the first 6 month of moving out, I didn't have potatoes - well I didn't make them my self. 

These oven-roasted potatoes is easy to make, they are tasty and colorful. You can use any vegetables you like, the method works for any root vegetables.  

Serves 3-4. 

Ingredients: 

• 8-10 Potatoes, small firm like fingerlings
• 2 onions
• 6-8 garlic cloves
• 8-10 sweet peppers
• 2-4 tablespoons pitted olives
• 1 handful cherry tomatoes
• canola oil
• salt
• piment d'Espelette 
• 3 sprigs rosemary

Direction: 

Vegetables ready for the BBQ.

Preheat the oven (or BBQ) to 400°F.
Wash potatoes, peppers tomatoes and rosemary. Peel the onion and chop it into bits-size pieces. Peel garlic cloves. Add all the ingredients to a baking dish (or make a bowl out of aluminum foil) drizzle with oil and season with salt and piment d'Espelette.  

Roast for 25-40 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Serve with fish or meats.

If you are roasting the potatoes on your BBQ, use indirect heat.