Don’t mean to hassle you…I’ve got your hasselback – so many puns, so little time as we run out the clock on fall and celebrate Thanksgiving THIS THURSDAY! Having considered all the sides that might possibly grace the turkey, here’s what I want to share with you this week: the art of hasslebacking!
Some may ask, what the heck is a hassleback potato? I thought hassleback was that woman who left The View a few years back.
Nope, it’s a legitimate cooking technique and sooooo tasty!
The method of thinly slicing – but not all the way through – and marinating the nooks and crannies in between, with all kinds of luscious and savory flavors was invented the same year I was born.
Hasselback potatoes or Potato à la Hasselbacken was Leif Ellison’s creation. It was 1953 in Sweden, and he was a trainee chef at restaurant Hasselbacken in Stockholm. You can actually buy a hasslebacking kitchen gadget, but carefully making slices with a large knife is just as effective.
More than just potatoes, the hassleback method works with butternut squash, apples, pears and carrots.
Go online, and you can make Bon Appetite’s AWESOME butternut squash recipe, which is an incredibly good side for the Thanksgiving table. I also find when hasslebacking carrots, that sriracha and cinnamon work well in the cracks.
I’m sure your Thanksgiving will be an utter delight, no matter what. Wishing you a happy gobble gobble day, and sharing this book signing event with my Charlotte friends before signing off. I will be at Park Road Books on Black Friday from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on November 29th. Come by and see me when you’re done shopping 🙂
Hassleback Sweet Potatoes
with Honey, Pecans & Goat Cheese
Serves 4
10 minutes to prep and up to 1 hour to bake
4 sweet potatoes, skins peeled
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup Orange Blossom honey
4 to 6 ounces goat cheese
1 tablespoon butter, softened
Juice of a naval orange
Salt
Chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Peel 4 sweet potatoes, cutting off the rough ends.
Make slices all along the sweet potato as shown in the photo.
In a separate bowl, whisk together cinnamon, honey, butter, orange juice and salt. Drizzle the mixture into the slices of each sweet potato.
Using a cheese spreader or small spoon put a dollop (or two!) of goat cheese into each incision on the sweet potato. Garnish the insides of the sweet potatoes with chopped pecans.
Bake at 375 for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the sweet potatoes can be easily poked with a fork.
Optional: add whip cream to each potato before serving.
