Hasselback Potatoes & Fromage Frais

📝 Ingredients

• 4 waxy potatoes (about 175 g each)
• 20 g unsalted butter
• 2 garlic cloves + 1 tsp dried thyme
• 250 g fromage frais, 3 % fat
• 10 g fresh chives
• 4 slices of cooked ham (about 40 g each)
• ½ lettuce (about 150 g)
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard + 1 tsp red wine vinegar + 1 tbsp rapeseed oil (for the dressing)
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Air fryer
• Very sharp knife
• 2 chopsticks
• Pastry brush
• Mixing bowl
• Bowl

📖 Steps

1. Wash and scrub the potatoes without peeling them, then dry them well. Place each one between two chopsticks (or two wooden spoon handles) and slice into it every 3 mm: the chopsticks stop the blade 5 mm from the bottom, so you don't cut all the way through.
2. Rinse the potatoes under cold water, gently spreading the slices apart to remove the starch, then pat them dry carefully with a clean tea towel: any water left behind stops the edges from crisping up.
3. Melt the butter in the microwave for 30 seconds, then add the crushed garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Brush the potatoes with half of this butter, letting it run well down between the slices.
4. Preheat the air fryer for 3 min at 190 °C. Cook the potatoes for 35 min, brushing them with the rest of the butter halfway through, until the slices fan out, the edges are crispy and the centre is tender when pierced with the tip of a knife. In the oven: 55 min at 210 °C.
5. While they cook, snip the chives and mix them into the fromage frais with salt and pepper, then chill until needed. Wash the lettuce, spin it dry and tear it into pieces in a salad bowl.
6. In a bowl, whisk the mustard, vinegar and 1 pinch of salt, then add the rapeseed oil in a thin stream, whisking, to make a well-emulsified dressing. Only dress the salad just before serving, or it will go limp.
7. Serve 2 piping hot hasselback potatoes per plate, with a big spoonful of chive fromage frais, 2 rolled slices of cooked ham and the dressed green salad.