How to Hasselback Almost Anything (and Therefore Make it Fancy)

This fall, you're going to take potatoes everywhere. You're going to take them to thatbuttery, creamy place, thatsoft and fluffy place, and, yes girl, thatcrunchy, spicy place, too.

Where you might have trouble taking your potatoes? That formal, classy place. That's because they'repotatoes—trusty, stocky, pale. The Jonah Hill of vegetables. It looks awkward all dressed up.

Until you hasselback it.

The hasselback is so simple. Take some potatoes (no need to peel them). Pick up a sharp knife. Slice the potatoes thinly (about 1/4 inch-thick slices), stoppingjust在你到达底部的土豆。你做n't want to cut the potato into slices; you want it segmented but whole. Gently spread the segments apart with your fingers.

Yes, yes, those nails are on fleek. But look at those hasselback apples!

Now you're ready for the good part. Because the point of a hasselback is not the segments, but what you putinthe segments. Slip a bay leaf or two into those hasselback potatoes. Slide in some bacon or pancetta or, shoot, just some chilled lard, all of which will cook and baste the potatoes with golden, salty fat. Melted herb butter, garlicky olive oil—get it all in there.

Now put the hasselbacks in the oven (375 degrees, say) and let them cook. Let the garlic/herbs/pork flavor the potato from the inside out. Let the air circulate around the slices, turning them crunchy and golden.

Could you stop with potatoes? Yes. You could make hasselback potatoes for years and never run out of variations. Hasselback Yukon Golds with pesto. Hasselback sweets with nutmeg and bacon.

But know this: The hasselback isn't exclusive to the potato. You can hasselback almost any vegetable or fruit, provided it has enough structure.

Apples are a good choice—imagine the sticky, caramelized orbs that would come out of the oven if you hasselback'd an apple and stuffed it with brown sugar and vanilla seeds. Now think about how savory you could take those apples: some pancetta, some thyme, some salt. Your pork chops would be so happy.

And after apples? Pears. And after pears? Zucchini. And after zucchini? Our sister Bon Appetit just hasselback'd somecarrots. Oh, you thought carrots were too small to be hasselback'd? Not at all. In fact, vegetable size is not an issue with hasselbacking (see: radishes); a small imagination, on the other hand, can be a serious hindrance.