Hedgehog potatoes with herbed yogurt dip

Have you heard of hedgehog potatoes? I hadn't, until I saw this fun recipe. Basically, they are potatoes that are cut into thin slices, but the cuts don't go all the way through the potato, so the slices end up spreading out a bit. This recipe comes from Super Natural Cooking, and includes thin slivers of harissa-coated garlic tucked in between the potato slices. The potatoes are garlicky and spicy, with a nice cool cilantro-mint yogurt dip to balance out the heat. As you can see, my obsession with purple vegetables continues with these potatoes...

Hedgehog potatoes with herbed yogurt dip
Adapted from Super Natural Cooking 
Serves 2

Note: we had a lot of dip left over when we made this.

8 small purple potatoes (ours were small enough that 4 potatoes was an appropriate side dish serving. You can substitute red or Yukon gold potatoes if you can't get purple)
3 cloves garlic, sliced paper thin
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp harissa (North African chile paste)
Salt

Dip:
1/2 cup plain yogurt (I used sour cream)
1 small clove garlic, chopped
2 tbs chopped fresh mint
2 tbs chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 deg F. Wash and dry the potatoes. Cut each potato into very thin crosswise slices, but only cut about 80% of the way through, so that the potatoes stay intact. Mix the garlic slices, olive oil, harissa, and a couple of pinches of salt together in a small bowl. Tuck the garlic slices in between the potato slices, and rub remaining oil mixture over the outsides of the potatoes. Sprinkle the potatoes with salt, place on a baking dish, and cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes, and then uncover and bake for 20 more minutes, or until fork tender.

Meanwhile, combine yogurt, chopped garlic, mint, cilantro, salt, and a couple pinches of pepper in a small bowl and stir well. Serve potatoes with dip on the side.