Parmesan Potatoes

If you’ve been following my blog for awhile, you’ll know that I have a special place in my heart for baby potatoes.  They cook quickly, cut perfectly, and make for a great appetizer or side dish, giving them endless recipe opportunities.

This recipe happened directly after last month’s column using baby potatoes for hot potato salad.  I had a ton of leftover Parmesan cheese, chives, and potatoes so I  threw these into the oven to have next to barbecued steak and corn the following evening – I could not have been happier with how they turned out.  The Parmesan cheese created a perfect crust for the potatoes, and the hassleback style of cutting them (see below) created the perfect French fry level of crispiness, all the while preserving the center of the potato for a classic baked potato feel and taste. 

This style of potato is truly the best of all the potato worlds combined into one dish and is sure to satisfy and potato craving that you might have.

Recipe makes 4 servings

Ingredients

- 2 lbs baby potatoes

- 1 cup real parmesan cheese, grated

- 2 tbsp butter (or oil)

- ¼ cup chopped chives

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line baking sheet with tinfoil shiny side up (this will help reflect the heat making the potatoes even crisper).

Cut potatoes hassleback style (sliced thinly from the top to the center but left joined at the bottom – picture cutting a potato for homemade chips only leaving the bottom portion of the potato intact so it all stays together).

Place a small amount of butter on top of the potato, getting as much between the layers as you can (this is harder to do with baby potatoes, but is achievable).  The butter is necessary not only to achieve crispiness, but also to bind the Parmesan cheese to the potato in the next step.

Finely grate Parmesan cheese (if you don’t have a Parmesan specific cheese grater, use the smallest grate side on a regular cheese grater).  Mix cheese with finely chopped chives.

Roll the buttered potato top in the Parmesan cheese, pressing the cheese on top of the potato flat. 

Bake in pre-heated oven (with rack in the middle position) for 15-20 minutes, or until potatoes are cooked through and cheese is golden brown.

Great served on their own, or with a little bit of sour cream on the side for dipping.

Enjoy!