This recipe is an evolution of Hasselbackspotatis enriched with cheese and bacon. We pair this dish with a Verdicchio di Matelica Del Cerro 2021 Cantine Belisario.
Hasselbackspotatis is a typical Swedish dish composed of baked, thinly cut potatoes with the addition of butter and a variety of spices. It is named after the Hasselbacken Hotel where it was invented by Chef Leif Elisson in 1953.
Ingredients for 4 people:
4 medium-to-large potatoes, 30g butter, 1 tablespoon bread crumbs, 4 thyme sprigs, 2 rosemary sprigs, 2 fresh oregano sprigs, salt, pepper and 12 slices of dried bacon.
For the fondue: 300g mild provolone, 150g cream.
Directions:
Wash the potatoes carefully and accurately clean the shins. Cut each potato into thin slices leaving the base intact (you can insert long toothpicks to stop the knife from cutting further). In order to keep the slices from sticking together, rinse the potatoes over running water to remove any starch.
Melt the butter in a micro-oven or bain-marie. In the meantime, finely chop the herbs, add salt and pepper and mix everything together. Brush the potatoes with the butter making sure it enters all the crevices and then sprinkle the chopped herbs between the slices.
Cover a baking dish with parchment paper, place the potatoes on top, cover them with breadcrumbs and bake for 45 minutes at 200°C.
Heat the cream in a small pot and add the provolone that has been cut into thin pieces. Stir until you obtain a uniform fondue.
Cut the bacon into small pieces.
Remove the potatoes from the oven, insert the bacon between the slices and bake for another 10-15 minutes until the potatoes become crispy (poke the base of the potatoes with a toothpick to see if it is fully cooked).
Serve the potatoes on a bed of fondue with some on top as well.
Wine to pair:
Verdicchio di Matelica Del Cerro 2021 Cantine Belisario
Bright straw yellow color. Complex aromas of flowers, white melon and citrus. Aromatic herbs and eucalyptus in the background. Agile taste and savory finish.
Production area: the eastern slopes of the subvalleys of the Upper Esina Valley at the foot of Mount San Vicino, in the Verdicchio di Matelica appellation. Southern exposure, altitude 360 meters a.s.l..
Grape varieties: 100% Verdicchio clone from Matelica with tight clusters. Gujot and double inverted cordon training system; inter-row worked until the end of June, density 1666 from 3200 vines/ha, year of planting 1982.
Harvest: defined according to ripening curves of sugars, total acidity, ph; harvest in t.1.5 grape carts.
Vinification: vinification in white in reduction, thermocontrolled, cold static decantation of must. Fermentation about 25 days in 300 hl stainless steel tanks. Aging 5 months in stainless steel tanks.
Alcohol content: 13% vol.
