Herbed Hasselback Sweet Potatoes Recipe

Categories: Feature, Gluten-free/gluten-free adaptable, Holiday, Potato, Recipes, Vegetables, Vegetarian

To hasselback a potato (or anything for that matter) means to slice it in an accordian style so that the slices fan out resulting in crispy edges and soft interiors. You can stuff anything you want in between the slices or nothing at all, but the results are absolutely delish. I love sweet potatoes more than regular potatoes, so I knew a hasselbacked sweet potato would be my kind of recipe. I taught this in a class a couple years ago and everyone flipped for them. We all stood at the counter pulling apart layers of sweet potatoes with our fingers and forgetting that I had cooked other recipes!

I love using ghee in this recipe because of the warm, nutty flavor, but mainly because ghee is stable at higher temper. Ghee is a clarified butter which means it is devoid of the milk solids. You can absolutely use avocado oil or olive oil if you choose. I also like treating sweet potatoes in a savory way because they are often sweet (which I like too.)

The only hard part of hasselbacking is making the cuts without cutting all the way through. I sometimes place one chopstick on either side of the sweet potato. That will prevent you from cutting all the way allowing the sweet potato to stay in one piece. You can also apply this technique to apples, pears, even butternut squash.

I think sweet potatoes are one of the most perfect foods, but this recipe can be a little dangerous. I can power through A LOT of these slices; and before I know it, I’ve eaten two entire sweet potatoes!

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This is a fun recipe to try on the weekend when you have a little extra time. Or when you want to cozy up in the kitchen because it’s cold outside. Sound familiar??

If you give hasselbacking a try, please tag me @pamelasalzman #pamelasalzman so I can see your wonderful creations!

You can shop the tools I used in this recipe by clicking on the images below!

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Herbed Hasselback Sweet Potatoes

Author: Pamela

Serves: 4 as an entree, 6 as a side dish

Ingredients

3 Tablespoons garlic ghee (or unsalted butter or all olive oil and ½ teaspoon granulated garlic)
3 Tablespoons unrefined, extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage (rosemary is nice, too)
2 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste (don’t be stingy)
4 medium to large sweet potatoes, scrubbed and dried (try to buy sweet potatoes that are all about the same size)
1 lime, cut into wedges (optional)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Melt the ghee with olive oil in a small saucepan and add the herbs and ½ teaspoon salt, stir to combine and set aside.
Slice a super thin piece of off the bottom of the sweet potato so it will lie flat on the cutting board. Reserve that piece. Lay two chopsticks, one along each side of the first sweet potato and thinly slice (about ⅛-inch) each sweet potato crosswise along the top, stopping at the chopstick so that it doesn’t cut all the way through. Or just do this carefully without chopsticks, ensuring you do not cut all the way through.
Place the reserved slices on the prepared baking sheet and place the sweet potatoes on top of each slice. Fan open the potatoes and brush the cut sides with ghee/herb mixture. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
Roast in the oven for about 30 minutes or until the sweet potatoes begin to soften.
Baste with remaining ghee/herb mixture. Place back in the oven and roast for an additional 20-30 minutes, or until the center is tender. This depends on the size of your sweet potatoes (a small sweet potato will not take as long). Serve with a wedge of lime, if desired.