Rosemary & Garlic Hasselback potatoes
Aren’t the weeks in between Thanksgiving and Christmas a little bit strange? Time passes differently, weekends are either SUPER busy or SUPER open, and there’s typically events sprinkled in between, like Friendsgivings and family parties.
Even though this time of year can be draining and chaotic, I love it. It’s so fun to be able to spend time with family and friends and just take a moment to soak in what the holidays are really about…. The FOOD! Just kidding, sort of. 😉
This year, the holidays look a little different for us, because it’s our first year as both married couple and living in Colorado. I love that we are creating our own traditions as a little family, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t miss being near our parents.
Every year for my entire life, we have spent Christmas Eve with our dear family friends, celebrating the traditional Estonian way. Blood sausage (Google if it you dare), vodka shots with dinner and Saint Nicholas showing up at midnight with presents. It’s strange to not be there this year, but I’m very thankful for the new opportunities that have come our way, and I know it won’t be long before we join back in on our traditions.
We are kind of just rolling with the punches this year, since we decided not to travel back to the Midwest for the holidays. We weren’t even planning on getting a Christmas tree (omg, we sound like such grinches, but we just didn’t think we had the room for it in our apartment!) and my mom simply couldn’t handle that, so she sweetly sent us the cutest 5’ skinny tree in the mail. It came with lights and everything!
We don’t have a single ornament, but it’s still adorable and absolutely made our apartment feel so much cozier.
Moms are just the best.
Do you have holiday traditions that you celebrate every year? I’d love to hear them!
Luckily, we do still have family in Colorado, so we won’t be sitting home alone for Christmas this year. My wonderful in-laws are coming into town and we are going to spend Christmas Eve at my sister-in-law’s mom’s house! It will be fun to join in on another family’s celebrations, because I know the holidays are unique and special to everyone.
When we found out we were going to be going to their house, I was requested to bring either an appetizer, a starchy side dish, or dessert. Well, I’m not a baker, so I obviously chose the starchy side dish. I had the perfect one in mind… hasselback potatoes!
How to make the hasselback potatoes
I love these hasselback potatoes because although they look so fun and decorative, it’s so simple to make and requires minimal effort. You just need to slice the potatoes, brush them with butter and pop them in the oven!
By cutting the potato slices super thin, it creates a ton of surface area on each slice to get super crispy, while remaining soft and buttery on the inside. Although I love some cheesy, gooey potatoes, I love that this dish is so understated and simple, which really allows the flavors to shine. These hasselback potatoes are a perfect side dish to a Christmas, or Thanksgiving dinner.
The first step in this dish is to preheat the oven to 425, and scrub your russet potatoes clean. Once cleaned and dried, place a potato on a cutting board and make thin slices, leaving about ¼-½ inch at the bottom, holding the potato in place.
There are some people who think it’s easier to place two wooden spoons on either side of the potato and use chopsticks to hold it in place while you slice (so that you can’t slice through the bottom), but I think it’s easiest to just grab a sharp knife and get eye level with the potato, and slowly slice through!
After slicing the potatoes, place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and brush with melted butter. I like to add minced garlic, salt, pepper and rosemary to the melted butter before spreading it onto the potatoes. You want to make sure you get some in between each slice, and reserve half of the seasoned melted butter for the second half of baking.
Bake the potatoes for about 25 minutes, then remove and brush with the remaining melted butter mixture. Pop back in the oven (it’s a good idea to rotate your baking sheet at this point), and continue baking for another 25-30 minutes, until golden brown!
Top with some flaky sea salt if needed, and some chopped parsley or chives to liven them up. There you h
Rosemary & Garlic Hasselback Potatoes
Ingredients
- 4 russet potatoes washed & dried
- 4 tbsp melted butter
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1/2-1 tsp salt, to taste
- 1/4 tsp black pepper, to taste
- 1-2 tsp dried rosemary (or sub Italian seasoning)
- parsley or chives, to garnish
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
- Carefully make slices in the potatoes, leaving 1/4-1/2 inch at the bottom to hold the potato together.
- Place the potatoes on a baking sheet. In a small bowl, combine the melted butter (microwave cold butter in increments of 10 seconds until melted), minced garlic, salt, pepper and rosemary.
- Brush 1/2 the mixture onto the potatoes, making sure to get in between the slices.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, remove from oven and brush the remaining 1/2 of melted butter mixture onto the potatoes.
- Bake for another 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.
- Garnish with chopped parsley or chives.
Happy Holidays, everyone! I hope you all have a fantastic time celebrating with family and friends. It’s such a special time of year. If you’re hosting, my Blueberry Maple Oat Bake with Chia Seeds is a great option to make on Christmas morning for a crowd!
