Recipe · Side dish
Duck Fat Hasselback Potatoes with Crispy Prosciutto & Pine Nuts
Hundreds of crispy edges, fluffy middles, a snowfall of Pecorino and a balsamic drizzle. Fancy enough for company, easy enough for Tuesday.
- Prep10 min
- Cook1 hr 15
- Ready in1 hr 25
- Serves4
Made with Spud & Root White Potatoes
Slice. Baste. Drizzle. Swoon.
See the cut, the duck-fat baste and the finishing drizzle before you pick up a knife. Then scroll down and cook along.
Slice & brush Thin cuts, not all the way through.
Pile it on Pecorino, prosciutto, pine nuts.
Dig in Fork optional. (It's not.)
Let's make some potatoes.
Ready in 1 hour 25 minutes.
- PrepPreheat & slice
- RoastBaste every 20 min
- Cheese5 min
Eat
Fresh from the bag
Method
-
Heat the oven
Turn your oven on to 425°F. It can heat up while you slice.
-
Set up your chopsticks
Lay a potato on a cutting board. Put a chopstick along each long side of it. Wooden spoon handles work too.
They stop your knife before it cuts all the way through.
Practice roundTry the chopstick trick
The chopsticks stop the knife about ¼ inch from the bottom, so the slices stay attached. Tap to start, and the knife glides along the potato: tap for each slice, and keep them thin and even. Then try it without the chopsticks.
Tap the potato to slice.
-
Slice it thin
Cut straight down across the potato, slice after slice, from one end to the other. The chopsticks stop the knife about ¼ inch from the bottom, so the slices stay joined.
Do the same with the rest of the potatoes.
The chopsticks are the brakes. 
Thin slices, still attached. -
Brush on the duck fat
Set the potatoes in a roasting pan or on a rimmed baking sheet. Brush them all over with melted duck fat, working it down between the slices.
Keep the rest of the duck fat handy. You’ll use it to baste.
Get it down between the slices. -
Season
Sprinkle the potatoes with salt and pepper, as much as you like.
Brushed, salted, ready for the oven. -
Roast and baste
Put the pan in the oven. Every 20 minutes, take it out and brush the potatoes with more duck fat.
They’ll need 50 minutes to 1 hour 10 minutes in all.
-
Check they’re done
They’re ready when they’re golden-brown and tender. A knife should slide into the middle easily.
Not there yet? Give them a little longer, up to 1 hour 10 minutes in all, and check again.
-
Add the cheese
Sprinkle the Pecorino over the potatoes. Keep a little extra for the top.
Put them back in the oven for about 5 minutes, until the cheese melts and turns light golden-brown.
A little Pecorino snowfall. -
Top it and serve
Scatter the crumbled prosciutto, a little more Pecorino and the pine nuts over the potatoes.
Finish with a drizzle of balsamic glaze, and dig in.
Be generous. Nobody ever said “too much prosciutto.” 
Then the glaze.
Made for Potatoes... Everything else is Gravy!
Start with a good potato.
This one calls for our White potatoes. Grab a bag, and make it tonight.
