The Winter Solstice Approaches

Meet the $16 Tool That Seriously Improves Baked Potatoes

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Credit: Joe Lingemn

You don’t need me to tell you that there are loads of different ways to prepare a potato. Somehow, though, after many years of rotating between mashed, smashed , fried, and baked, my potato sides were becoming a little predictable. My usual recipes weren’t cutting it anymore. I needed to level up my potato game.

My new idea: Hasselback potatoes . I’ve always loved them and I order them off of restaurant menus whenever they’re offered. But they were exactly the kind of too fancy, too complicated potato I felt intimidated to try at home. There was the matter of steadying the potato, as well as making countless thin slices without cutting through the bottom of the spud. It was a task I didn’t trust my knife skills to attempt — that is, until I found this tool . It’s less than $20 and makes slicing hasselback potatoes as easy as 1-2-3.

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The RSVP International Hasselback Potato Guide is really the key to hassle-free Hasselback-ing. Once I wash my potato, I pierce it with the guide and use my knife and the guide’s prongs to cut the potato, over and over again, going from right to left. The included base stops my knife from cutting through the bottom of the potato, creating the perfect Hasselbacked spud. Then, I drizzle it with olive oil, hit it with a smattering of sea salt, and bake it until it’s cooked through.

Credit: Emma Christensen

The resulting potato is everything I want in a side dish. It’s like a baked potato, only way fancier, with slices that are crispy on the outside and soft and creamy on the inside. It’s the kind of thing that looks impressive, but is surprisingly easy to do, thanks to my trusty Potato Guide — making it perfect for a weeknight side, but fancy enough for company. And if I’m really cooking to impress, I’ll crumble crispy bacon and sprinkle it with some sliced scallions as garnishes.

With my Hasselback potato slicer, I won’t settle for a ho-hum, just so-so potatoes again. You could say, if you get one, it’ll be nothing but spud-tacular sides from here on out.

Do you a favorite potato gadget? Let us know in the comments!

Lauren Manaker

Contributor

Lauren Manaker is an award-winning registered dietitian, book author, and freelance writer based in Charleston, South Carolina. She has an abnormal love for sparkling water and enjoys digging into the latest healthy food trends.

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Source : food