Assortment’s budget bites: Sprucing up the humble spud

Crispy potatoes with harissa yoghurt. Photo / Assortment

Introducing “Budget bites” - a series where we at Assortment take humble produce and turn it into something a little fancy. As we continue to see the cost of food soaring, cooking with budget-friendly ingredients has never looked so good and we want to prove they can taste good too.

First up in Budget bites, we’re sprucing up the humble spud. Potatoes are a filling, cheap and often used as the base or “bulker” of meals - but they are also capable of producing an array of showstopping sides.

Crispy potatoes with harissa yoghurt. Photo / Assortment

Crispy smashed baby potatoes with agrodolce and feta

Serves 4 as a side

The potatoes are crispy on the outside and velvety and smooth in the middle, topped with a sweet and salty sauce, creamy feta and fresh parsley - the perfect side to pan-fried fish or grilled chicken.

1kg baby potatoes

½ cup red wine vinegar

2 Tbsp honey

2 Tbsp capers, finely chopped

¼ cup kalamata olives, pitted and finely chopped

50g feta, crumbled

½ cup parsley, finely chopped

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 220C, fan bake.

Place the baby potatoes into a large pot with cold water and add a generous pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and cook for 10-15 minutes or until tender (a fork can go through easily), then drain well.

Add the potatoes to a baking tray and with a spatula or the bottom of a mug press down on each potato to ‘smash’ them (you want them to be smashed but still intact). Drizzle generously with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, then pop them into the oven for 35-40 minutes until golden brown and crispy.

While the potatoes are in the oven you can make the agrodolce sauce. Add the red wine vinegar and honey to a small saucepan and bring to a boil; cook for 5 minutes until reduced and syrupy.

Remove from the heat and add the capers and olives; set aside until you are ready to serve (this is served at room temperature).

Once the potatoes have cooked, remove from the oven and spoon over the agrodolce, crumble over the feta and garnish with the parsley.

Crispy smashed baby potatoes with agrodolce and feta. Photo / Assortment

Crispy potatoes with harissa yoghurt

Serves 4 as a side

Crispy potatoes on a bed of creamy yoghurt spiked with a harissa oil adding a smokey garlic flavour. Team these potatoes up with a fresh garden salad and a choice of grilled meat or halloumi for a vegetarian dish.

4-6 medium agria potatoes, chopped into cubes

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp harissa paste

2 tsp maple syrup

½ cup Greek yoghurt

Heat oven to 220C, fan bake.

Place the potatoes into a large pot with boiling water and add a generous pinch of salt. Cook for 10 minutes until cooked halfway through; drain well.

Pop the potatoes back into the pot and give it a good shake and bash, roughing up the outside of the potatoes (the “rough” exterior will allow them to get extra crispy).

Place all the potatoes and potato “bits” from the pot on a baking tray, drizzle generously with oil or fat of choice and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 35-40 minutes until they are golden and crispy; season to taste. ‍

While the potatoes are cooking make the harissa oil. In a small bowl add the olive oil, harissa and maple syrup; stir to combine. ‍

Add the Greek yoghurt to the base of a plate, drizzle over ¾ of the harissa oil, then use a knife to swirl through. ‍

Pop the crispy potatoes on the bed of yoghurt, then drizzle over the remaining harissa oil.

Laura Bedwell and Nikki Crerar from menu planning and meal prep service, Assortment. Photo / Supplied

Laura Bedwell and Nikki Crerar run Assortment, a weekly menu planning service. Catch them on Instagram @assortment___ or head to assortmentfoods.com for more.