Celebrate St Pat’s with Rosemary Garlic Hasselback Potatoes with Greens

As St Pat’s rolls around, are you a traditionalist, who craves the same Irish-inspired dishes year after year? Or are you just in it for the green beer? I’m more interested in tweaking the usual fare, to avoid boredom. That’s why I made Rosemary-Garlic Hasselback Potatoes with Greens.

Some kind of roots and carbs are a must-have on St Patrick’s Day, no matter what. Whether you go with Colcannon or Irish Soda Bread. 

Potatoes are Peasant Food

Cheap food to keep a belly full harks back to the Old Country. Why not make your potatoes a little bit pretty, and use some simple herbs and garlic for a fragrant, exciting meal? I even slipped in a sweet potato, to fill up the pan and give you a little variety. The hasselback potatoes roast to tenderness, and the edges crisp in the hot oven.

Elemental Soul Food for the Irish in You

Once the potatoes are underway, a quick saute of kale and chiles provides the necessary green element to the meal. Cabbage, kale, and other sturdy greens are part of the peasant pantry, and we all want some shamrock colors on the plate.

The only trick is slicing the hasselback potatoes. I put chopsticks alongside each potato, so that the knife won’t go all the way to the board. Since potatoes are round, sometimes I had to keep my knife a little higher so that I wouldn’t lop off the end.

(I’ll post a video of this on instagram, since I can’t post one on the blog.)

Heat, Herbs and an Hour

That’s it, just drizzle with the herbs, garlic and olive oil, getting a little down into all the crevices, and roast, uncovered, in a 450 F oven for an hour or more.

Hasselbacks with Kale, Rustic and Hearty

Of course, if you are so inclined, you can pile some shredded Irish Cheddar on for the last 15 minutes. Fry up your favorite mock sausages, and you have a pretty respectable St Paddy’s day meal.

And if you hoist a pint of Stout, you’ll really be in the spirit!

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Rosemary and Garlic Hasselback Potatoes with Greens

The luck of the Irish will be with you, when you make this hot panful of crispy potatoes and herbs. Who needs all the cream and cheese, when you have garlic and olive oil?

Course Side Dish

Servings 5

Author Robin Asbell

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic mince two of them
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary, plus three big sprigs
• 5 medium yukon gold potatoes
• 1 small sweet potato
• coarse salt
• 1 bunch kale or other greens
• 2 medium red Fresno Chiles chopped

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 450 F.Get a 9 or 10 inch cast iron skillet. Pour the olive oil into a cup and add the 2 cloves chopped garlic and the chopped rosemary, reserve.
• Use a sharp chefs knife and a pair of sturdy chopsticks to make the potato cuts. To create the classic Hasselback cuts, you'll need to make thin cuts straight down, but not all the way through. I like to place a chopstick along each side of the potato, so that my knife will stop at the stick, and preven me from slipping all the way through. Slice about 1/4-1/3 inch apart. As you finish each potato, tuck into the cast iron pan. For the sweet potato, slice lengthwise in half and place cut side down on the board, and repeat the Hasselback process. Tuck into the pan. Scatter the remaining whole garlic cloves alongside the potatoes. Use a paring knife and your fingertips to gently separate the slices just a little, and drizzle the olive oil mixture down into each cut. Tuck the remaining rosemary sprigs alongside the potatoes and sprinkle with coarse salt.
• Roast for about an hour, testing by piercing into the center of the largest potato at about 45 minutes.

  Just before serving saute the kale and chiles in olive oil, and add salt to taste. When potatoes are tender, take out and serve hot, with sauteed kale and chiles.