Hasselback Potato Recipe with Guajillo Chile Oil and Chipotle Sour Cream

Have you ever seen a more beautiful potato?  Me either.  I had no idea that a potato recipe could be so fancy... or stand on its own without gravy... or bacon bits... or "fixin's."  This little beauty is a Hasselback Potato roasted by my food blogger friends at Camp Blogaway. Notice the cool, whispering pines in the background.

What's Camp Blogaway?  A "get-a-way" retreat in the Southern California mountains for food writers and bloggers to share stories, tips and recipes like this one.  We made so many new friends there that share our passion—o.k. obsession— for food writing.  The camp has cabins complete with bunk beds, bring your own sleeping bags, s'mores over a fire and a hot tub.  What?  What's wrong with a hot tub?  Yes, it is camping.

This Hasselback Potato Recipe, from the Idaho Potato Commission, is easy enough to serve the hundred or so people  that were at camp and elegant enough to satisfy their "foodie" side.  I decided to put a Southwest spin on the recipe when I got home so I can serve it on Father's Day to sort of "dress up" our annual "Dad's Day BBQ."  You know how much men love meat and potatoes... they'll love them even more with the chile oil and chipotle sour cream.

You'll have him at Chile Oil.

How to Make a Hasselback Potato with Guajillo Chile Oil and Chipotle Sour Cream

First prepare the chile oil.  Add oil, sliced garlic and guajillo chiles to a small sauce pan.  I broke my chiles into pieces to allow more flavor to infuse into the oil.  These chiles aren't very hot, but if remove the seeds if you want to reduce more of the heat.  Guajillos are one of my favorite.  If you can't find them, you may substitute dried red New Mexican chiles.

Please, please don't use Thai bird chiles or jalapenos or anything that is too hot.  The dried guajillos or New Mexican chiles have a very Southwest flavor and, to me, the really hot chiles only have heat.

Bring the oil to a simmer over medium heat.  Reduce the heat and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.  Be careful not to brown the garlic, it will have a biter taste.  Melt the butter into the chile oil.  Remove the chile oil from the heat and let steep while you prepare the potatoes.

Wash the potatoes well.  Use a scrub brush if necessary.  Dry the potatoes well.

Place two chop sticks on your cutting board and position the potato between the chop sticks.  Make slices in the potato ¼ inch apart.  Be very careful not to cut all the way through the potato for the first few slices on each end.  After that, the chop sticks will stop the knife from going all the way through the potato.

Brush the potatoes with chile oil.  Make sure to get the oil into each slice.

Roast the potatoes at 425 degrees for 45 to 55 minutes.

While the potatoes are roasting, make the chipotle mayonnaise.   In a small bowl, mix the sour cream and the chipotles together.  The chipotles break up easily so I just mash them into the sour cream with a fork instead of making a mess by chopping them on a cutting board.  Add a little of the adobo sauce with the chipotle.

Tip: I used two chipotles when I made this dish, but I changed the recipe to 1 chipotle.  I thought 2 chipotles made the sour cream way too hot.  I would rather taste the chile oil than have my mouth on fire from the chipotles.  But, if you like it hot, go ahead and use two.

Chill until the potatoes are ready.

Remove the potatoes from the oven and brush with more chile oil.

Garnish with sea salt and thinly sliced green onions.  I only used the green part of the onions because the white of the onion is a little too strong and over powers the potato and the chile oil.  You can use chives instead, if you have them.

Hasselback Potato Recipe with Chile Oil and Chipotle Sour Cream

serves 4

1 cup olive oil

4 cloves of garlic, minced

3 dried guajillo chiles or dried New Mexico chiles

4 tablespoons butter

4 small to medium sized Idaho potatoes (russet or yukon gold work well)

1 cup sour cream

1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce

Sea Salt to taste

1 green onion, green part only, thinly sliced or chives

Directions for Hasselback Potato Recipe with Chile Oil and Chipotle Sour Cream

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

In a small sauce pan, heat the olive oil, garlic, and dried chiles. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.  Reduce the heat and add the butter, heat until melted, do not brown the butter.  Strain.

Wash the potatoes well, use a potato brush if necessary.  Dry well.  Place the potatoes on a cutting board between two chop sticks or the handles off two wooden spoons.  At one end of the potato, make thin slices (a quarter inch apart) across the potato.  Do not cut all the way through the potato.  The chop sticks or wooden spoons will stop the knife from cutting all the way through the potato.  But, be careful not to cut through the potato on the first few slices on each end of the potato, the chop sticks may not stop the knife.

Place the potatoes on a baking sheet and brush well with chile oil.

Bake for 45 to 55 minutes until the potatoes are fork tender inside, but the skin is crispy.

Remove from oven and drizzle with some of the remaining chile oil.

Plate the potatoes with a dollup of chipotle sour cream on the side.  Sprinkle with sea salt and sliced green onions.

Tips for cooking Hasselback Potatoes for a crowd:

1.  If you are cooking a large number of potatoes, make the chile oil in advance

2.  You may slice the potatoes early in the day if you keep them submerged in lemon water.  Make sure the potatoes are very dry before you bake them so that the skins roast and become crispy.

3.  Don't over crowd the pans or the oven, the potatoes will not get crispy.  If using two racks, make sure there is space between the racks for the are to circulate.

4.  Do not use a pan with tall sides, the air will not circulate around the potatoes and the skins will have a hard time crisping up.

-posted by Sandy