12small potatoes, 110-140g each / 4-5oz (or 6 medium cut in half), unpeeled (see notes)
1tablespoonolive oil
1teaspoonsalt
¼-½teaspoonfinely cracked black pepper, to taste
85gbacon (finely diced)(3oz/3 rashers)
1 ½cupsthickened cream (heavy cream)
8-10sprigs fresh thyme
2large cloves garlic, peeled
¾cup packedgrated cheddar cheese(85g/3oz)
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Equipment
chopping board
Sharp knife
2 Skewers (metal if possible)
Saucepan
Large baking dish
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan forced) / 350F.
Give the potatoes and wash and dry first.
Choose the flattest side of one of the potatoes and trim off a thin slice so that it’s perfectly flat. Place the potato flat side down on a chopping board and place a metal skewer either side of the longest sides. Using a sharp knife, cut the potato into 2mm slices allowing the skewers to stop you from cutting all the way through (notes). Repeat with remaining potaotes.
Place the potatoes into a large baking dish but one where they sit quite snuggly together. Drizzle over the oil, salt and pepper. Very gently roll and toss them around to coat evenly, being careful not to break them.
Turn them all so they’re hasselback side up and evenly spaced out.
Bake on the middle oven rack 50-60 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
When there is about 20 minutes to go, in a medium saucepan, cook the bacon bits over medium heat until just starting to turn golden brown. Set aside.
Use paper towel to soak up any large pools of grease in the bacon pan but don’t rinse or wash it. That flavour will add to the cream sauce.
Add the garlic cloves, cream and three thyme sprigs to the bacon pan.
Heat over low-medium heat, scraping the bottom of the pan to get all that bacon flavour, until you see bubbles start to break the surface. Don’t boil. Take it off the heat immediately and set aside to allow the flavours to steep for about 5 minutes. Pick out and discard the garlic and thyme stalks (a few leaves left behind is fine).
Remove the stalks from the remaining sprigs of thyme until you have about 1 teaspoon of thyme leaves. Discard the stalks.
Once the potatoes are tender, scatter over the bacon bits, cheese and thyme leaves. Spoon the cream over the top allowing it to seep down into the potatoes.
Bake for a further 20 minutes.
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Notes
Tablespoons: I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (equal to 4 teaspoons). Check yours before measuring.
Best potatoes are Royal Blue, Sebago, Russet, King Edward or Maris Piper.
Potato size: Aim for around 110-140g / 4-5oz per potato. Try to get them all around the same size so they all cook in the same time. Since some of the bottom is trimmed to give a flat base, you can adjust their sizes this way too. If you use larger potatoes, you’ll need to bake them longer in the first part of baking but still keep the final portion with the cream to 20 minutes.
Slicing the potatoes: Be careful when you slice them. If you find you’re cutting on an angle and a slice or two cuts through and comes out with the blade, simply slot it back into place.
Nutrition details are approximate only - scroll below the recipe to find the full nutritional information.
Have you tried this recipe?Don't forget to leave a rating and comment below and let me know how it was! I love hearing from you. Nutrition information is approximate and derived from an online calculator. The brands you use may cause variations.