I made a simple thyme butter to use as a baste while these ridged potatoes were cooking in the air fryer. There was plenty of black pepper in it too which, with the butter and herbs, lent a delicious finish to the hasselbacks.

They first went in at 175℃ for 15 minutes, then I took them out and spread thyme-pepper butter on top. They were still hard at this point but had attained a crispness on the surface.

I returned them to the oven at the same temperature for another 15 minutes, then took them out and spread them with more thyme butter. They were much closer to perfection by this point but needed more, and I elected to turn the heat up to finish them as they needed to tenderise in the centre and to crisp more on the outside.

So up the temperature went to 200℃ for the final 10 minutes. The job was done and they were just as good to eat as they appear in the photo.

Bear in mind that the ones I cooked were large, so if they’re smaller they will cook more quickly.

(Recipe for 2 large potatoes, multiply as needed)

Ingredients

2 large potatoes, peeled

4 heaped Tbsp salted butter

1 Tbsp picked thyme leaves

A generous pinch of black pepper

A little salt

Cooking oil spray

Method

Peel the potatoes and, using a small, sharp knife (I used a paring knife), carefully slice halfway down at short intervals, as in the picture. The knife should not go further than halfway into the potato at any point. Make sure the potatoes are dry (pat with kitchen paper).

Mix together the butter, thyme and pepper, with just a hint of salt. The butter does not need to be melted as it will melt as soon as you spoon it on the hot potatoes.

Preheat the air fryer to 175℃. Spray the basket with oil. Spray the potatoes too.

Place them in the basket and cook for 15 minutes at 175℃; don’t add the butter yet.

Spoon a third of the thyme butter on top and cook for another 15 minutes at 175℃.

Spoon another third of thyme butter on top, turn the heat up to 200℃, and cook for a further 10 minutes.

Spoon the remaining butter on immediately before serving. Salt lightly if you like. Make a note to buy lots more potatoes because once you get the hang of this you’ll be cooking them several times a week. DM

Tony Jackman is Galliova Food Writer 2023, jointly with TGIFood columnist Anna Trapido. Order his book, foodSTUFF, here

Follow Tony Jackman on Instagram @tony_jackman_cooks.