Most recipes for hassle back potatoes seem to make a big deal out of the slicing, going so far as to suggest you buy a special slicing tool!. For starters, I just made sure my knife was sharp. I took a sliver off the bottom of the potato so it would sit flat. Then I stuck a skewer the length of the potato just a bit up from this new flat bottom. This way, as I sliced through the potato at 1/8" intervals, the slice did not go completely through. The perfect preparation!
Ingredients:
2 medium potatoes, washed and dried. It is preferable to use oblong potatoes
salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup melted butter, divided
1 Tbl breadcrumbs
1 Tbl parmesan cheese
Directions:
1. Skewer the potatoes. Make a slice down until knife stops at skewer at 1/8" intervals.
2. Sprinkle salt and pepper
3. Melt 2 TBL. butter and drizzle evenly over the potatoes
4. Bake at 425 for about 30 minutes
5. Now sprinkle with breadcrumbs and and drizzle remaining butter.
6. Bake 20 more minutes or until the potato slices are tender when pierced with a knife.
7. Sprinkle with parmesan before serving
Additions:
Once you have the basic potato (veggie) down, add your won creative touch.
- stuff slivers of cheese (Cheddar? Gouda?) between slices
- add parsley or Rosemary to the melted butter
- sprinkle with cooked, crumbled bacon
And there you have it, an elegant baked potato!