I’m finally jumping on the hasselback potato bandwagon with this recipe for Chimichurri Hasselback Potatoes. They are the perfect side dish, or vegetarian main dish, simple and easy to put together and downright tasty!
Summer is a-coming and New Hampshire’s weather is finally warming up. All the snow in my yard is gone! YAY!!!! J and I have been celebrating the end of winter (finally!) by grilling out almost every single night. OMG, I freaking love grilling. There is nothing better then sitting outside, grilling a bunch of meat and veggies while sipping on a glass…ahem…bottle of red wine. Since moving from Florida to New Hampshire, I greatly miss the ability to grill year round. I didn’t realize this until after I moved to the Northeast but I took many things for granted living in the South, like the weather. I mean, it was pretty much perfect weather all the time…well, except when there was a hurricane. Yeah, that wasn’t so perfect but, to be completely honest, I’d take a hurricane any day of the week over a snowstorm. Losing electricity isn’t quite the big deal when it’s 90F degrees outside. You can just pretend you are camping. Losing electricity in the Northeast while it is 15F degrees outside is a totally different story. That sucks big time.
Whenever we grill out, I like to make a big batch of chimichurri so I can put it on everything. Chimichurri is a Latin American fresh green sauce that has garlic, olive oil, and vinegar in it, and lots of finely chopped herbs like parsley, cilantro, and oregano. In my version, I omit the oregano and add extra cilantro along with fresh squeezed lime juice and minced jalapeños (fresh or pickled). It’s primarily used on grilled meat but it’s great on grilled fish and seafood, all types of vegetables, and even as a dipping sauce for bread. YUM!! I will literally use it on everything and anything that is food.
By the way, if you haven’t figured it out already, I have a serious addiction to chimichurri. It started when I was a young lass in South Florida and I ate my weight (and still do) in Cuban food. If you haven’t tried a Cuban pork roast with chimichurri on top, you are missing out on life my friends. I could talk about my love of chimichurri sauce for days but time to get back to the grilling…so here we are grilling the steak and drinking some wine. For a side dish, I was thinking of cooking up some cheesy hasselbeck potatoes, maybe even put some crispy, crumbled bacon on top. That’s what I’m talking about, lots of bacon and sharp cheddar cheese and sour cream on top of a potato, generously sprinkled with fresh chives. Love all those flavors together! Well, the problem is, I don’t think all of that is going to help my cause of trying to lose a little weight before summer (see my last post here for that 411). The course of action of making the hasselbeck potatoes was already set in motion, so I left off the bacon and cheese and sour cream and replaced it all with chimichurri sauce. Wait, is that even saving me any calories? Probably not…and I don’t care. It’s just an excuse to eat more chimichurri…
All I know at this point is chimichurri on top of a hasselbeck potato is outrageously delicious! Maybe I thought it was so good because I usually have yucca with chimichurri and I may be getting a little bored with that combo. Maybe it’s the fact that potatoes just taste damn good with all that fresh garlic, lime, vinegar, cilantro, and olive oil all over it. I don’t know the “why” but I do know I will be eating Chimichurri Hasselbeck Potatoes more often. If you try it, let me know if you feel the same way.
5.0 From 2 reviews
CHIMICHURRI HASSELBACK POTATOES
PREP TIME
10 mins
COOK TIME
45 mins
TOTAL TIME
55 mins
Author: Tasty Ever After
Serves: 4
INGREDIENTS
FOR THE CHIMICHURRI:
- ½ cup olive oil
- ? Cup flat leafed parsley, finely chopped
- ½ cup cilantro, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ fresh lime, juiced
- 4 Tb red wine vinegar
- 1 Tb fresh or pickled jalapeno, minced
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 4 large baking potatoes, thoroughly washed and dried
- 4 Tb olive oil
INSTRUCTIONS
FOR CHIMICHURRI:
- Combine all ingredients from the olive oil to the kosher salt in a small bowl, cover and let sit at room temperature for at least 2 hours to allow flavors to develop.
- When ready to bake the potatoes, preheat the oven to 425F.
- Slice each potato at ¼ inch intervals, three quarters of the way though (be careful not to fully cut through the bottom of the potato). Place on a baking sheet or pan and drizzle each potatoes with 1 Tb of olive oil. Bake for 45 minute to 1 hour, or until browned and cooked throughout.
- Remove potatoes from the oven and top each one generously with the chimichurri.
- Leftover chimichurri can be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
***Grabbed from: http://www.tastyeverafter.com/chimichurri-hasselback-potatoes/