It’s like a pre-seasoned baked potato that’s more fun to eat!

Scroll me down, sister!

The Hasselback potato is a Swedish dish invented by the restaurant Hasselbacken in Stockholm. It looks a little fancy but is pretty easy to do, and isn’t as big of a pain in the ass as it may seem stuffing all those little layers with a paste.

I used my cheap little brushes to slice the potato, because I quite like my wooden spoons and didn't want cut marks in them.

I used my cheap little brushes to slice the potato, because I quite like my wooden spoons and didn’t want cut marks in them.

Traditionally these potatoes are baked with any combination of butter, spices and topped with bread crumbs. I’ve kind of turned it on its head (clearly after someone else did), creating a “not your Swedish grandma’s” Hasselback potato.

Oops! If you accidentally cut it through don't worry, you can still cook it up. Pretty sure we aren't cooking for the queen here.

Oops! If you accidentally cut it through don’t worry, you can still cook it up. We aren’t cooking for the queen here.

I really love the way curry and sweet potatoes go together, creating a sweet, spicy and comforting concoction, but you can use this same recipe with regular potatoes. You can use little new potatoes, russets, Yukons, Peruvian purples, whatever you like really; just make sure they are relatively uniform in size so they all finish baking at the same time. For smaller potatoes, be sure to decrease your cooking time.

Try not to leave too much paste on the top, as it will take no prisoners and burn in the oven.

Try not to leave too much paste on the top, as it will take no prisoners and burn in the oven.

The first time I attempted to make these, I got lazy and just spread the paste on top of the potato thinking that it would all melt down in between the layers as the oven warmed the oil. Do not do this, you will end up with burned cilantro potato Hasselbacks. I’ve found that a butter knife makes pretty quick work of stuffing the paste in between the layers. You can kind of just shove it in there, as long as it’s between the potato slices and not resting on top the oven will, in fact, do the work and melt the paste further down into the flesh of the potato.

Curried sweet potato Hasselback

Serves 4
Prep time 20 minutes
Cook time 45 minutes
Total time 1 hours, 5 minutes
Website Food 52

Ingredients

  • 4 Medium sweet potatoes
  • 2 heaped tablespoons mustard seed (brown or yellow is fine)
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 tablespoons fresh cilantro (minced)
  • 2 heaped tablespoons curry powder
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder or minced garlic
  • salt and pepper to taste

Optional

  • 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

Directions

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 425. Pour just enough hot water over mustard seeds to cover and let sit for about 10-15 minutes to soften. Put a potato in between either two cutting boards about the same thickness or two wooden spoons and cut 1/4-1/2 inch slices into each potato without slicing all the way through. (Do not cut thinner than 1/4 inch, as it will make more work with the paste and make the layers easier to snap off.) Repeat with all the potatoes.
Step 2
Drain excess water from the mustard seeds. It's okay if a little water clings to them. Combine the rest of the ingredients and mix into a paste. If the paste is a little dry, add more oil. If it's a little wet, sprinkle a little more curry or garlic powder.
Step 3
Using a butter knife, smear the paste in between each layer of the potatoes. Once finished, place potatoes on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake for 40-50 minutes, until the potatoes are easily speared with a fork or knife. Garnish with more freshly minced cilantro on top if desired.

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4 Comments on "Side of the month: Curried Hasselback sweet potatoes"

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Mam Lou

What do you think about using stone ground whole seed mustard if you don’t want to buy mustard seeds?

Laura

Aren’t hasselbacks fun?!?! I made rosemary-garlic hasselbacks for the first time a couple of weeks ago using sweet potatoes as well and I was so pleased:) These ones of yours look delicious! Thanks for sharing!