Crunchy Rosemary Hassleback (or 'Fantail') Potatoes

Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside - these Hassleback Potatoes are always a hit !

Hassleback potatoes (also sometimes called ‘Fantail’ Potatoes due to their pretty fanned shape once cooked) are Swedish in origin and apparently named after the ‘Hasselbacken Restaurant’ in Stockholm where they were first served. (Okay, so they’re not a typical African side dish but I thought I’d put the recipe on the blog anyway as they are always a hit and are well worth trying !)

For a little bit of heat, you could use fresh garlic and chilli in place of the rosemary

There are many ways to prepare these tasty potatoes – the recipe below is how I make mine. They are fairly easy to do, (the ‘hardest’ part is probably slicing them neatly) and also make an impressive dinner party side dish (minimum work for maximum impact !)

Some recipes call for you to par boil the potatoes until just tender before slicing & baking them, but I prefer not to as I find them easier to cut raw – so really, it’s up to you -:

Crunchy Rosemary Hassleback (or ‘Fantail’) Potatoes

8 Potatoes, medium sized (I use red Potatoes)
Salt & freshly ground Black Pepper
2 tbsp fresh Rosemary, finely chopped (or any herb of your choice. Garlic and/or Chilli Powder also works well)
Olive Oil

Wash the potatoes & insert a skewer (lengthways) through the base of the potato to prevent you from cutting all the way through the potato. Now slice the potato widthways at around 5mm intervals (see photo above). You only need to slice about ¾’s of the way through the potato – which is where the skewer comes in handy, as it prevents you from slicing right through. (You don’t have to use a skewer, but it does help). Repeat with remaining potatoes, then place them on a baking tray/sheet and season with salt, pepper & the finely chopped fresh rosemary. Pour a little olive oil over the surface of each potato and bake at Gas Mark 7 for about an hour. Once done, the potatoes will be crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. Garnish with a little more rosemary before serving, if desired.

Typical Tanzanian Road Side Scenes ....

A man carrying a water container and a Maasai man in traditional dress (red blanket) walking past a local village Church school (above) .....

The Church (which is attached to the school above) can be seen hidden some distance from the road below ....

Approaching one of our local villages ..... it's market day today, so there is an extra hustle and bustle and a buzz of excitement in the air ....

Passing some local houses - many of which double up as shops during the day. These ones have some second hand clothing and cloths hanging outside for sale ....

A colourful hardware/paint shop with delivery truck parked outside .....

Aside from bicycles, motorbikes (known as 'piki piki's' here) are a very popular form of transport and it is not uncommon to see 1,2 or 3 people on the back of one of these - or perhaps a single person with a goat or a box of chickens strapped behind him. Below you can see 2 people on a piki piki, slowing down to let a herd of goats and cattle pass .....

Here is a young man carrying a lady behind him 'side saddle' style on his motorbike .... be it a bicycle or a 'piki piki', Tanzanian ladies always ride side saddle here. The small, green, 3 wheeled vehicle approaching on the right side of the road ahead putt-putt's along and also acts as a taxi service. They are known as 'half loaves' as they look like half loaves of bread !

Open road .... the 'Great North Road' which cuts through many African countries .... only a few uneven parts here and minor potholes. So time to put the foot down and pick up a little speed while we can ....

This type of journey, for me, sure beats driving on a pristine highway anyday .... and I hope that you enjoyed these typical Tanzanian road side scenes with me today, too !

Lemon & Ginger Biscuits (Cookies)

The lemon zest - along with the ginger - make for a tasty biscuit

This is the 28th biscuit (cookie) recipe I’ve posted on the blog, which I guess tells you just how often I bake them ! Our ‘biscuit tin’ is usually always full, just as it was when I grew up as a child as my mother always kept ours well stocked – it’s funny just how many food ‘traditions’ like this we carry on into our own homes as adults, don’t you agree ?!

This 'Lemon and Ginger' biscuit recipe I came up with a while ago would have been nice with some crystallised ginger added, only we can’t get it here easily – so if you have it, you can try adding a few tablespoons to this recipe, if you like.

As with all my recipes, you can scroll to the bottom of this page for the recipe ‘Conversion Calculator’ to convert ingredient quantities into those measurements which suit you best -:


Lemon & Ginger Biscuits (Cookies)

110 gm Butter
250 gm Sugar
1 Egg, beaten
1 ½ tbsp Lemon Juice
1 tsp Lemon rind, finely grated
450 gm Flour
1 ½ tsp ground Ginger
½ tsp Salt
2 tsp Baking Powder
Water

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the beaten egg, lemon juice and lemon rind. Mix well and then sift in the flour, ground ginger, salt and baking powder. Mix to form a manageable dough (add a splash of water if the dough is too dry). Shape dough into walnut sized balls & place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Press each ball with the back of a fork to flatten slightly. Bake at Gas 5 for around 15 minutes until golden.