Hasselback Potatoes

Ingredients

• 8 potato, scrubbed and dried
• 60 g butter, melted
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp fresh thyme, leaves picked
• 40 g breadcrumbs
• 40 g Parmesan, finely grated

Method

1. 1.

   Fan-cut the potatoes — Heat the oven to 220°C. Sit each potato in the bowl of a wooden spoon and slice down at 3-4 mm intervals: the spoon stops the knife before it cuts through, so the base stays intact and the slices fan open in the heat.

2. 2.

   Butter and season — Stir the olive oil into the melted butter. Brush half of it over the potatoes, working it down into the cuts, season generously with the salt and pepper, and set them cut side up in a roasting tin.

3. 3.

   Roast until the slices open — Roast for 40 minutes, basting once halfway through with the buttery juices in the tin, until the slices have begun to fan open and the tips are colouring.

4. 4.

   Pack in the crumb topping — Mix the breadcrumbs, Parmesan and thyme leaves into the remaining butter and oil, then press the mixture down between the fanned slices and over the tops.

5. 5.

   Crisp the crumbs — Return to the oven for 15-18 minutes, until the crumbs are deep gold and the outer slices shatter when tapped with a spoon; a skewer should slide into the base with no resistance.

6. 6.

   Rest before serving — Let them settle for 5 minutes out of the oven so the centres finish steaming, then serve straight from the tin.