Exploit the Hashtag: Remarkably Easy Crisscross Potatoes
This recipe for Crisscross Potatoes grew out of necessity. My mother needed to use all those small potatoes the grocers hid in the 10# bags of potatoes. I grew up in a large family with eight kids, so peeling between 6 and 10 pounds of potatoes for dinner was not all that unusual. We had to use up the leftover potatoes somehow, so my mother created these spuds and they quickly became a favorite.
A favorite, because I’ve never met a potato I didn’t like.
These are, easily, in my top 40 of favorite potatoes though.
Melt the butter in the casserole dish (affiliate link) while the oven is heating and you’re prepping the potatoes. After cutting in half, score the potatoes on the cut side, making a run of hashtags. In the old days it was called criss-crossing. Use a paring knife (affiliate link) but be careful – it’s a little too easy to cut yourself when cutting close to the sides.
Remove the pan with the now melted butter and place the potatoes cut side down in it. Drizzle the tops of the potatoes with some of the oil from the pan and salt liberally.
Bake until the potatoes are tender and browned on the cut side, about an hour, depending on the size of the potatoes. They can be microwaved first in order to speed up the cooking if you’re in a hurry. Serve piping hot – it doesn’t count if you can close your mouth over the first bite.
It probably doesn’t need a recipe, but…
Crisscross Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Olive or canola oil
- 2 tbsp Butter
- 6 - 8 small Potatoes
- Kosher Salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees for convection or 400 degrees for standard. Put oil and butter in 11 x 17 casserole pan and place in oven to melt butter.
- Wash and dry potatoes. Cut each in half. Cut lines in each potato in a hashtag pattern (crisscross).
- Remove hot casserole dish from oven. Sprinkle a liberal amount of kosher salt across the bottom of the casserole pan and place potatoes, cut side down, in pan. Drizzle a bit of the oil - butter mix over the top of the potatoes and salt well.
- Place potatoes in oven until cooked through, soft and well browned, about an hour, depending on the size of the potatoes.
- If you are using a microwave safe casserole dish (no metal please!) you can microwave the potatoes before placing in the oven in order to shorten the cooking time. When I'm in a hurry, I often microwave the potatoes for 10 minutes on high before cooking. This will cut the cooking time in half.
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