Hasselback Potato Casserole
By America's Test KitchenPublished on October 19, 2021
Time
3 hours
Yield
Serves 8
Ingredients
Before You Begin
Look for oblong russets that are 4 to 6 inches long and about 3 inches in diameter at their widest. Large potatoes are easier to peel and to slice on a mandoline and fit well when stacked in an 8-inch square pan. If you can find only small russets, you may need more than 4¼ pounds to yield enough slices to fill the pan. Do not pack the potatoes in too tightly or they may not cook through in the stated time; it's OK to have a few unused slices. Use the mandoline's finger guard and stop slicing when you've got about a 1-inch nub of potato left.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Cook bacon in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until crispy, 5 to 8 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Stir in onion and ½ cup broth. Cover and cook until most of liquid has evaporated, 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and continue to cook until onion is well browned, about 5 minutes longer. Add garlic and 2½ teaspoons rosemary and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Set aside off heat.
- Grease 8-inch square baking pan with butter. Peel potatoes. Using mandoline, slice potatoes crosswise ⅛ inch thick. Combine potatoes, ¾ cup Gruyère, ½ cup Parmesan, salt, pepper, bacon-onion mixture, and remaining ¾ cup broth in large bowl and toss to thoroughly combine, breaking up any stacked potatoes and making sure potatoes are coated.
- Stack 2 inches of potatoes, then lay stack on its side in 1 corner of prepared pan. Continue stacking and laying down potatoes until pan is filled with 3 rows of potatoes. (Potato slices should fit snugly without having to be squeezed in. You may not need all of them; save any extra slices for another use.) Pour remaining broth mixture in bowl over potatoes. Brush any pieces of bacon or onion on top of potatoes down into valleys between rows.
- Cover pan tightly with aluminum foil and place on foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 1¼ hours. Uncover and continue to bake until tops of potatoes are golden brown and paring knife inserted into potatoes meets very little resistance, about 30 minutes longer.
- Combine remaining ¾ cup Gruyère and remaining ½ cup Parmesan in bowl. Remove potatoes from oven and sprinkle with cheese mixture. Continue to bake until potatoes are well browned, about 15 minutes longer.
- Remove potatoes from oven. Sprinkle with remaining ½ teaspoon rosemary. Let cool for 15 minutes and serve.
Time
3 hoursYield
Serves 8Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
Hasselback potatoes, whole potatoes that are sliced thin almost all the way through to create a fanned effect, look cool but require some care and precision to prepare. Chef and author J. Kenji López-Alt, an America's Test Kitchen alumnus, deserves credit for melding this dish—purportedly created by Leif Elisson in 1953 at the Hasselbacken Restaurant Academy in Stockholm—with potato gratin. This updated, easier version features potato coins stacked on their sides in a baking pan. To make our utterly delicious and failproof version, we chose large russets, which, when sliced, fit neatly in three rows in an 8-inch square metal baking pan. We used a mandoline to ensure that the potato slices would be uniformly thin and result in an unfailingly tender interior and an extra-crispy top. Then we layered in our own complementary flavors: crispy bacon and caramelized onions for a sweet, savory, smoky flavor base; ample garlic for a pungent bite; and chopped fresh rosemary for bright, piney notes. Finally, we incorporated Gruyère and Parmesan to provide nuttiness and sharpness while structurally melding the slices into a cohesive whole as they melted.
Before You Begin
Look for oblong russets that are 4 to 6 inches long and about 3 inches in diameter at their widest. Large potatoes are easier to peel and to slice on a mandoline and fit well when stacked in an 8-inch square pan. If you can find only small russets, you may need more than 4¼ pounds to yield enough slices to fill the pan. Do not pack the potatoes in too tightly or they may not cook through in the stated time; it's OK to have a few unused slices. Use the mandoline's finger guard and stop slicing when you've got about a 1-inch nub of potato left.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Cook bacon in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until crispy, 5 to 8 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Stir in onion and ½ cup broth. Cover and cook until most of liquid has evaporated, 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and continue to cook until onion is well browned, about 5 minutes longer. Add garlic and 2½ teaspoons rosemary and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Set aside off heat.
- Grease 8-inch square baking pan with butter. Peel potatoes. Using mandoline, slice potatoes crosswise ⅛ inch thick. Combine potatoes, ¾ cup Gruyère, ½ cup Parmesan, salt, pepper, bacon-onion mixture, and remaining ¾ cup broth in large bowl and toss to thoroughly combine, breaking up any stacked potatoes and making sure potatoes are coated.
- Stack 2 inches of potatoes, then lay stack on its side in 1 corner of prepared pan. Continue stacking and laying down potatoes until pan is filled with 3 rows of potatoes. (Potato slices should fit snugly without having to be squeezed in. You may not need all of them; save any extra slices for another use.) Pour remaining broth mixture in bowl over potatoes. Brush any pieces of bacon or onion on top of potatoes down into valleys between rows.
- Cover pan tightly with aluminum foil and place on foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 1¼ hours. Uncover and continue to bake until tops of potatoes are golden brown and paring knife inserted into potatoes meets very little resistance, about 30 minutes longer.
- Combine remaining ¾ cup Gruyère and remaining ½ cup Parmesan in bowl. Remove potatoes from oven and sprinkle with cheese mixture. Continue to bake until potatoes are well browned, about 15 minutes longer.
- Remove potatoes from oven. Sprinkle with remaining ½ teaspoon rosemary. Let cool for 15 minutes and serve.
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