Cilantro

Not Your Standard Potato Hasselback

by:
November 19, 2013
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0 Ratings
Not Your Standard Potato Hasselback
  • Serves 4 as a side dish
Author Notes

Potatoes seem to herd together with the likes of butter/ cream/ cheese or a combination thereof in most western dishes. I tend to use herbs, spices and sometimes other vegetables to flavor my dishes. Spicing dishes with ground whole black mustard seeds is very unique to the West Bengal state in India where I had my first start in life. The dish I am submitting is a modern take on a street food called 'Aloo Daam" which are baby potatoes cooked in a spicy and tart mustard gravy. —vegetarianirvana

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon whole black mustard seeds
  • 2 large cloves of peeled garlic
  • 1/3 cup of cilantro leaves, without the stems, about .4 oz.
  • 2 large baking potatoes, about 10-12 oz each
  • 3 tablespoons of a light non flavored olive oil [divided] + a little extra
  • 2 teaspoons Panko bread crumbs
  • salt to taste
  • 1 lemon
Directions
  1. Soak the first 2 ingredients in some warm water for about 15 minutes.
  2. Wash the cilantro leaves and set aside.
  3. Mean while scrub the potatoes clean, leaving the skin on. Choose uniformly ovoid ones if possible.
  4. Place each potatoes horizontally between two wooden spoons or skewers or 1/2 " cutting boards. This is to prevent the potatoes from being sliced all the way through. Make uniform 1/4 inch vertical slices through each potato.
  5. This is an optional step. Place the potatoes in a pan with water just enough to cover them. Gently separate the vertical slices with your fingers. This enables the potatoes to fan out while baking. Remove potatoes from water, drain and wipe them dry.
  6. Make a paste out of the mustard, garlic, cilantro leaves and two tablespoons of the oil and salt to taste. [I added 1/2 tsp] You should get about 1/4 cup of mustard paste. Divide the paste between the potatoes, rub in between each slice thoroughly. Spread the rest all over the potatoes. Use 1/ 2 tablespoon of oil on each potato from the remaining oil to brush the tops and sides for a crispy finish.
  7. In a preheated 425 oven, place the potatoes in the middle rack and bake for about 50 minutes, though times may vary. Check if it is done by piercing a skewer through the potato.
  8. When the inside is cooked you can baste with a little extra oil. Add a pinch of salt to the Panko crumbs and sprinkle on the potatoes and put them under a broiler on high till the crumbs brown.
  9. Remove from oven, squeeze some lemon and serve or serve with a wedge of lemon
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4 Reviews

Dessito
Dessito November 20, 2013
Maybe I should be slightly embarrassed, but before this week I had never heard of potato hasselback. Just this past Tuesday I saw a recipe in a friend's vegan recipe mag, and now this! I guess these are enough signs that I should try some version of this. I like the sound of mustard seeds + garlic + cilantro, but don't see the attraction of more carb (the breadcrumbs) on starch (the potatoes) so will likely omit those. I will however use the neat trick of the two wooden spoons while slicing the potatoes just the right amount. Thanks for sharing!
 
vegetarianirvana
vegetarianirvana November 21, 2013
I agree with no carb on carb action. It was an after thought, the reason being when I created this recipe it needed a lil something something to to complete it. A little crunch here and there and some sharpness, hence the bread crumbs and twist of lemon. Let me know how it turns out if you try it, the ultimate test of a recipe is that it can be repeated successfully.
 
Christina
Christina November 20, 2013
My vege daughter returns from Sri Lanka this weekend. Guess what she'll be getting.
 
vegetarianirvana
vegetarianirvana November 20, 2013
Hi Christina
Honored to hear this is going to be her coming home dish. Wish her a safe journey.