Skordalia – Greek Potato and Garlic Spread
Good served with fish.
Good spread on bread.
Good for repelling vampires.
This dish is a garlic lover’s dream. It is probably not the best thing to serve at a dinner party unless horrendous garlic breath does something for conversation. And be prepared, if you go to the gym the day after eating Skordalia, you will smell garlic in your sweat.
My version is actually toned down from what my husband’s aunt makes in Greece. She uses a massive stone mortar and pestle to smash together the cooked potatoes with raw garlic. Hers has even more garlic and the consistency is better using all that “elbow grease” versus the food processor, which can make the potato consistency a bit gummy. Still, this version conjurs up the same flavors and was a welcome treat in our house this week. Although my hubby recognzied it was not the same as what he is served around the table in Corfu, his eyes opened wide upon first bite and after swallowing, his first words were, “mmmm…yummy my love!” Music to my ears.
Skordalia
3 medium potatoes
8-12 cloves fresh garlic
1/3 cup olive oil
3 T red wine vinegar
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt
Peel potatoes and cut into large chunks. Boil them until tender but not mushy. Drain them and let them dry a bit. Put the them in a food processor with the fresh cloves of garlic and a hefty pinch of salt. Pulse until combined and no large pieces of garlic remain. Add liquids little by little, alternating and pulsing until combined. Taste as you go, adding salt and more of any of the liquid ingredients to your desired flavor. Serve on bread or as a side to dip sausages or fish.
I added a new category of Greek Favorites to the side bar for those seeking out traditional Greek recipes. I will be adding more as summer arrives. Greek food always tastes best to me in the hot weather!
sometimes smelling garlic in your sweat can be a good indicator of how yummy your dinner was the night before :)
Hi! Good job on the scorthalia! Since you enjoy traditional Greek food, you just might be interested in my own Greek food blog: http://greekgourmand.blogspot.com
Amiably,
Sam Sotiropoulos
whip some salt cod in and call it brandade..did the french steal the base from the greeks?? anywho.. again showing that the mighty potato is so versatile. goes in the celery category as an underrated veggie hero..
get er done whipped!
I love a lot this dish especaliy with a lot of garlic
Cool!
My grandmother makes this two ways, with potatoes, as your recipe is, or with bread. The bread version is seriously potent but both are so good! I haven’t tried making it myself but I should since it’s pretty easy and has to be good for you with all that garlic. Yum!
Substitute white vinegar for the red, add a dash of white pepper and a couple of shakes of tobacco sauce or for the more daring a toothpick dipped in Dave’s Insanity sauce for the Mad Greek version. The tiniest drop of the latter goes a long way. Great taste and lots of heat
I’m mystified by the amount of red wine vinegar, the instruction is 3 T – what does the T stand for? Is it teaspoons or tablespoons or something else altogether? Help would be gratefully accepted.
T stands for Tablespoon, also abbreviated Tbs, Tbsp. Teaspoon is always abbreviated with a lower-case or small “t” or “ts”
Interesting Greek recipe and one I have never heard of before. What part of Greece does it come from? Garlic is a staple in this household, in another few months I’ll be buying a years worth of it.