Salad with Roasted Potatoes and Arugula

Let’s bring Hasselback potatoes back into vogue by making a salad of roasted potatoes with a difference. Crispy on the outside and fluffy and creamy on the inside. Served with a sweet mustard vinaigrette, what more could you ask for?

Jump to:

• Why You’ll Love This Salad
• What are Hasselback Potatoes?
• What Are Waxy Potatoes?
• How To Make Crispy Roasted Potatoes?
• How Long Are Potatoes Good For?
• Recipe Overview
• Ingredients
• Variations and Substitutions
• Instructions
• How to Make Crispy Hasselback Potatoes
• How To Prepare The Rest Of The Salad
• How to Make Sweet Mustard Vinaigrette
• How To Assemble The Salad
• Great Mains for This Salad
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Recipe

Why You’ll Love This Salad

Everyone has had many potato salads in their lifetime, from their traditional potato salad laced with egg and mayo right through to a salad with roasted potatoes.

No doubt, we have also, at some point, had Hasselback potatoes with all its crispy edges as a potato side dish for a Sunday roast or part of your Christmas fare.

For this recipe, we are combining everything we love about butter roasted potatoes by making crisp Hasselback potatoes in a salad. This way, we get the roasted potatoes and the Hasselback style for something more fun and steer away from the regular potato salad recipe.

As far as potato side dishes go, this recipe is fantastic for Christmas. They are aesthetically gorgeous, taste fantastic and ticks all the boxes of a great Christmas fare. These Christmas potatoes will no doubt wow your family and friends!

What are Hasselback Potatoes?

There has been much conjecture about the origins of the retro Hasselback potato. The one thing that one can agree on is that they are a Swedish invention.

One story suggests that it originated in the 1700s in the Hasselbacken hotel and restaurant. But many believe this can’t be the true account as potatoes were considered unfit for human consumption throughout Europe in the 1700s.

The other, perhaps more recent historical account dates back to around the 1950s, where the Swedish Hasselbackspotatis was first served in Restaurang Hasselbacken by Leif Elisson, a student chef.

However, his restaurant school principal was later credited with this method of baking potatoes.

Either way, for people like me who still love a good Hasselback, it is a baked potato that is crispy on the outside and oh so creamy on the inside.

It is its preparation method that not only allows for this to happen but also looks stunning. The potato is sliced thinly but not all the way through, creating this accordion effect.

What Are Waxy Potatoes?

Do you ever look at the wide range of potatoes on offer and wonder how you should be selecting the best potato for your recipe? Before I understood potatoes, it was always a random selection based on size and price.

There are, however, 3 types of potato varieties you should know about – floury, waxy or all-purpose.

If you want to make the best crispy roasted potatoes, you need waxy potatoes. Waxy potatoes are potatoes that are low in starch and high in moisture. Compared to a floury potato, the flesh is firmer, and the skin is thinner.

They withstand cooking well as their cells tend to hold their shape. These potatoes are therefore fantastic for potato recipes which require slicing, such as Hasselback or gratin. They are also great for boiling, baking or frying.

As a result of these characteristics, you need waxy potatoes to make crispy roast potatoes. They are not the best variety to use if you wish to make fluffy and creamy mashed potatoes.

Some examples of waxy potato types include:

Charlotte, Maris Peer, Jersey Royals, Bintje, Asterix, Viktoria, Maria, Annabelle, Charlotte, Kipfler, Dutch Cream, Nicola or Pink Eye.

You can use any of these potatoes to make this Creamy Beef Sausage and Crunchy Roast Potato Salad as well.

How To Make Crispy Roasted Potatoes?

The first thing you need to do to make crispy roasted potatoes is to ensure you have the right type of potatoes. As mentioned above, you need to get waxy potatoes.

The second trick is to try and remove as much starch from the potatoes as possible. The easiest way to do it is to wash, peel and cut the potatoes and then soak them in water in the refrigerator overnight.

The next day, give the potatoes another quick wash to ensure the starch is removed as much as possible.

I like to then ensure they get to room temperature before putting them in the oven. If they are too cold, they will heat up faster on the outside than they will on the inside, which will cause an uneven cook.

Heat plays an important part in crispy potatoes, so at a minimum, they need to be roasted at 200°C or 400°F. With the Hasselback potatoes, those slits create extra edges that are fantastic for crisping up.

Make sure that the potatoes are laid out in a single layer so that the heat can get to every part of the potato and ensure even crisping.

You need to add some fat onto the potatoes to allow them to crisp up perfectly. A good amount of butter or duck fat is always a winner! For this Hasselback potato recipe, make sure you get into all the grooves and deep into the slices to ensure it gets really crunchy.

How Long Are Potatoes Good For?

Uncooked potatoes last quite some time, from a few weeks and sometimes even up to a few months. Cooked potatoes, on the other hand, will last about 3-4 days in the refrigerator.

Recipe Overview

Flavour/Texture: The Hasselback potatoes with bacon are crispy, crunchy and salty. The red cabbage and arugula provide the raw element with peppery notes, while the sweet mustard vinaigrette is tangy and sweet.

All these different textures and flavours marry well together to create a salad with roasted potatoes with a difference.

This is one of the most fun potato side dishes you can make, and as far as Christmas potatoes go, your family and friends will be in for a treat!

Ease: The Hasselback potatoes can be a little tricky if you have never tried them before. But I do provide a little hack to show you how to slice it. It is incredibly satisfying when they turn out perfectly!

Time: This recipe needs a little planning as I do suggest soaking the potatoes overnight to remove the starch so that the potatoes will crisp up perfectly.

This reduces the amount of work that needs to be done on the day of cooking, especially if you have a big holiday feast to prepare for!

Ingredients

These are the ingredients you need for the Salad with Roasted Potatoes and Arugula.

Dutch cream potatoes: Try and get even sized Dutch cream potatoes so that the crispy Hasselback potatoes all look around the same. You don’t have to use Dutch creams. Just make sure that they are waxy potatoes.

Arugula: This salad of roast potatoes wouldn’t be the same without some greens. Raw arugula (rocket leaves) will give the recipe those peppery notes.

Bacon: Bacon, butter, crispy roasted potatoes and maple syrup are such a fantastic combination. In this salad recipe, we’re just mixing it up a little in terms of how we combine the ingredients all together. Salty, crunchy bacon. Can’t go wrong!

Scallion: We’re making scallion (spring onion) butter to douse the Hasselback potatoes to ensure it turns out nice and crispy!

Maple syrup: The much needed sweetness and the perfect companion of bacon!

Dijon mustard: Adding to the peppery notes the recipe.

Variations and Substitutions

Dutch cream potato substitute: If you can’t find Dutch cream potatoes, try getting Kipfler, Bintje, Sebago or Pink Eye. Or ask your grocer which is the best waxy potato they can recommend. Or at least an all-rounder potato that’s not too floury or too high in starch.

Chopstick alternative: You don’t have to use the chopstick method to cut the potatoes. If you’re confident you won’t cut right through the potato, you can try freehand. Or, if you don’t have chopsticks, you can use thick skewers or even wooden spoons.

Arugula replacement: You can substitute arugula with mixed leaves or baby spinach leaves.

Type of cabbage: Any cabbage will do. You can add kohlrabi and/or fennel to the mix too.

Maple syrup alternative: If you prefer honey, you can substitute the maple syrup in the dressing recipe.

Instructions

Step by step instructions for how to make Roasted Potatoes and Arugula.

How to Make Crispy Hasselback Potatoes

Wash and peel the potatoes. Place a pair of chopsticks horizontally on the chopping board. Place the potato horizontally between the chopsticks. Start slicing the potato. The chopsticks will stop you from slicing all the way through.

Alternatively, if you’re confident enough, you can go freehand or even get a Hasselback contraption that will help you slice it evenly.

Place the potatoes in a bowl of cold water, wrap it up and place in the fridge overnight to remove all the excess starch. This way your potatoes will be nice and crispy when roasted.

The next day, preheat the oven at 200°C or 400°F.

Remove potatoes from the water. Coat with 2 tbsp of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Melt the butter in the microwave.

Finely chop the green part of the scallion and add to the melted butter.

Place the potatoes on a sheet pan and baste with scallion butter.

Place in the oven for 50 minutes to 1 hour. Baste with butter mixture every 20 minutes to ensure you get the best crispy roasted potatoes.

How To Prepare The Rest Of The Salad

Cut the bacon into small pieces. In a medium size fry pan, add ½ tbsp olive oil. On medium heat, fry for about 5 minutes. Put bacon on some paper towels to drain excess fat and oil.

Wash and dry arugula.

Thinly slice red cabbage.

Thinly slice the green part of the 3rd scallion stalk.

How to Make Sweet Mustard Vinaigrette

In a small mixing bowl, add the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup and Dijon mustard.

Whisk until well combined.

How To Assemble The Salad

In a medium size mixing bowl, add the arugula, red cabbage and salad dressing. Mix until well combined.

On a big serving platter, layout the salad.

Sprinkle ½ the bacon on top.

Place the Hasselback potatoes on top of that.

Sprinkle the rest of the bacon and the chopped scallion for garnish.

Season with pepper to taste.

Serve.

Great Mains for This Salad

What to serve with Salad with Roasted Potatoes and Arugula? Try these delicious main dish recipes.

Pepperoncini pork roast done in the instant pot is the perfect main for these crispy roasted potatoes. If you’d like a rice dish, this chicken paella is perfect for you.

For a wonderful Christmas menu, you can try this maple vanilla Christmas ham which no doubt your family and friends will love.

Frequently Asked Questions

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What a salad with roasted potatoes! All the makings of classic flavours but just presented slightly differently. Potatoes, bacon, maple syrup, honestly, could you think of a better combination?

The raw arugula provides the peppery, anise-like flavours, while the red cabbage gives us the crunch and cuts through the fat of the bacon and the butter on the potatoes. A great salad all round!

That’s all!

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