ROAST HASSELBACK POTATOES, GARLIC & THYME IN TALLOW

Hasselback potatoes cooked in tallow are extra crisp and crunchy on the outside and soft and fleshy on the inside. Take the time to slice thinly because as they cook the potato fans out, making them look quite fancy for your next roast for entertaining. A generous scattering of herbs and garlic infuse with the tallow for extra deliciousness. The lemon salt complements the richness and the sweet garlic too, be generous with your sprinkle.

serves 6 as a side dish

⅓ jar of Torello Farm tallow (about ¼ cup)

1½ tablespoons sea salt, plus extra for cooking

Finely grated zest of half a lemon

6 x 200g-250g sebago potatoes (or cut large sebagos in half), scrubbed clean, peeled, or not peeled (you could also use exton potatoes too)

6 fresh bay leaves (optional)

1 head of garlic

about 10 sprigs of thyme

Pre-heat oven to 200°C (180°C fan-forced).

To make the lemon salt, combine the sea salt and lemon zest in a small bowl rubbing together a few times. The lemon oils will flavour the salt. Set aside.

Add the tallow to a roasting dish large enough to hold potatoes with space in between each one (to brown evenly all over, you don’t want them touching). Transfer the dish to the pre-heated oven 10 minutes before cooking potatoes.

Meanwhile, cut a thin slice from one side of each potato to create a base to sit flat. If using halved large sebagos, sit the cut side down. Place a potato between two chopsticks (the takeaway type are perfect) or two pencils. This will prevent you cutting all the way through to the bottom of the potato. Slice across each potato at 2mm intervals stopping when the knife hits the chopsticks. Slide a bay leaf in to the centre of each potato.

Place potatoes in the hot roasting dish, turning them over to coat in the hot fat and then position with the sliced side upwards. Add the garlic and roll in the hot tallow. Scatter over the thyme sprigs and sprinkle with sea salt. Roast for 30 minutes, remove from the oven, tilting dish slightly and spooning some tallow over each potato, alternatively use a brush to coat the potatoes. At this point the slices begin to fan open. Return to the oven and roast a further 30 minutes, or until golden and very tender in the center when tested with a skewer. Lightly brush with tallow one more time. Increase the temperature to 220°C (200°C fan-forced) and roast for another 10-12 minutes to crispen the potato edges and for the colour to turn golden brown.

Serve hot from the roasting dish or transfer to a serving platter. Separate the garlic cloves and squeeze out the soft confit center over each potato. Run fingers over the thyme sprig to release the leaves to garnish. Sprinkle with lemon salt.

Tip: Reuse any left-over tallow for roasting potatoes another day. Store the tallow in an air-tight container in the fridge.

Recipe by Fiona Hammond, December 2024