Pan seared salmon fillet with hasselback potato

Getting tired of sautéing or roasting potatoes, I tried my hands at hasselback potatoes to accompany my salmon with crispy skin. I didn't manage to find maincrop potatoes that are supposedly best for this dish (I suppose they are not in season just yet), so I grabbed two larger sized ones from the bag of white potatoes I bought yesterday.

Pan seared salmon with crispy skin, served on a bed of wilted baby spinach with lemon, and spicy hasselback potato

Ingredients for hasselback potatoes

for 2

2 medium to large white potatoes, washed and pat dried
2 tbsp rendered duck fat
pinch of Himalayan pink salt or fine sea salt
fresh ground pepper, optional
pinch of cayenne pepper, optional

Method

1. Prepare the potatoes: Clean the potatoes (not necessary to peel them). Cut slits into the potatoes, stopping just short of cutting all the way through. You can rest the potato on a large wooden spoon to use as a guide. Cut the slices as thick or as thin as desired. When the potatoes are sliced and if you want to get rid of the starch, soak them in cold water for 20 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the type of potatoes used. Drain the potatoes and pat dry. Set aside.
   
2. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
3. Heat a baking tray or deep pan with duck fat on the hob. Let the fat heat up till sizzling then put the potatoes, cut side down, on the tray/pan. Let the potatoes fry for a few minutes then turn them over and spoon the fat over the slits a few times.
   
4. Put the potatoes in the oven to bake for 20 minutes. The slits will separate as the potatoes bake.
5. Take the potatoes out of the oven and baste with the duck fat in the tray/pan. Make sure the fat runs through the space between slices. If the slices are stuck together, gently nudge them apart. Then put the potatoes back in the oven to bake for another 20 minutes.
6. Baste the potatoes again and sprinkle with salt, then bake for another 10 minutes, or till cooked (the flesh should be soft).
7. Transfer the potatoes to a warm plate and season with freshly ground pepper or cayenne pepper if desired. 
   

The hasselback potato accompanied a fillet of organic salmon with crispy skin and seasoned with dill and lemon juice, which sat on a bed of wilted baby spinach with a squeeze of lemon. The spinach was beautiful, even Husband, who could take it or leave it when it came to spinach, said so. 

The hasselback potato did not disappoint with its crispy slices. It also looked beautiful on the plate and really was quite easy to make.