“Hasselback?” you say…

The hasselback potato is clearly the most impressive spud to ever call itself a side dish. It’s also like having all of your potato dreams come true at once: these potatoes have the crispy edges of your favorite french fries, but with middles as creamy as mashed potatoes — plus the added bonus of being, essentially, wholesome baked potatoes in clever disguise.

We can thank the Swedes — and the chefs at Restaurant Hasselbacken, in particular — for the invention of this particular style of potato. They also sometimes go under the name Accordion Potatoes or (my favorite) Pillbug Potatoes. Whatever you call it, the result is the same: a single potato, sliced into thin wedges but left joined at the bottom, baked until the layers fan out into rounds of crispy bliss.

Rather than “potatoing” it up, I choose to creatively Hasselback some zucchini we all seem to have coming out our ears this time of year.

BUT, instead of the oven, I tried things in the cast-iron skillet.

It was darn good – but, remember, zucchini have a high water content – so things weren’t quite as crispy as I was hoping.

Maybe next time in the oven.

Until then…

Hasselback Zucchini

2 medium zucchini
1 Tbs. Butternut Squash Seed Oil
1/4 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg
sea salt
fresh rosemary

Halve the zucchini and place in a steamer basket set in a large saucepan filled with 2″ simmering water. Cover and steam until tender, 5-8 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Cut the veggies lengthwise along 1 side to remove a thin slice, creating a flat surface. Cut  crosswise into thin slices without cutting all the way through.
Heat a dry medium skillet, preferably cast iron, over high and cook the veggies, turning occasionally, until blackened, 10–12 minutes. Press slices at an angle to fan them out. Drizzle with  oil, then sprinkle with sea salt and nutmeg. Garnish with fresh rosemary.