Hasselback Potatoes Like a Chef

In this technical demonstration, the culinary team at London's Fallow showcases how to lift the humble hasselback potato from a rustic side to a refined, restaurant-grade masterpiece. By pairing precise knife work with a dual-stage cooking process—simmering in rich stock before roasting in an emulsion of clarified and cold butter—they deliver an exceptional contrast of ultra-crisp edges and a velvety, deeply infused core.

The Dual-Stage Precision Method

The preparation begins with selecting high-starch potato varieties like Agria or Yukon Gold, which provide the ideal structural integrity and fluffy interior. Achieving the classic hasselback shape requires running a metal or wooden skewer through the base of each potato. This acts as a physical stopper, allowing you to execute rapid, paper-thin slices down to the same depth without cutting completely through. Crucially, the skewers must remain in place throughout both the boiling and roasting stages to prevent the delicate layers from separating or collapsing.

Instead of roasting the potatoes from raw—which often results in uneven cooking or burnt tips—the technique relies on simmering them in a heavy-bottomed pot filled with stock. Whether using a deep beef stock, chicken, or a rich vegetable alternative, this stage parboils the potato while driving savoury umami deep into the starch molecules. The stock is allowed to reduce slightly, concentrating the flavours before the potatoes are carefully transferred to the roasting dish.

Emulsion and the Art of Basting

The roasting phase is where the texture is perfected. The parboiled potatoes are bathed in a mixture of the poaching stock, clarified butter, and cold cubed butter, alongside aromatics like smashed garlic, rosemary, and thyme. Clarified butter provides the fat required for high-heat roasting without the risk of burning milk solids, while the addition of cold unsalted butter helps build a velvety pan emulsion with the starches from the stock.

Baking at 225°C for 25 to 35 minutes requires active kitchen management. The potatoes must be basted every 5 to 10 minutes to ensure the fat and stock run down between each individual slice, creating micro-layers of crispness. To finish, the leftover poaching stock is reduced in a saucepan until it reaches a thick, glossy glaze consistency, then seasoned with fresh chives and draped over the finished, skewer-free potatoes.