Roasted Garlic Skordalia Recipes

SKORDALIA (GREEK GARLIC POTATO DIP)

Steps:

• Peel and quarter the potatoes and add to a saucepan with enough cold salted water to cover by 1 inch. Place over medium-high heat; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium and continue to simmer until potatoes are tender, but not falling apart, 15 to 20 minutes.
• While potatoes are cooking, add garlic and 1 teaspoon kosher salt to a mortar and pestle. Crush into a fine paste and reserve.
• Drain potatoes, reserving some of the cooking water to thin the dip out with later if desired. Let sit for 5 minutes.
• Transfer the potatoes to a mixing bowl. Mash with a potato masher or potato ricer until smooth and lump free. Stir in garlic paste. Add lemon juice and vinegar and stir in with the masher.
• Whisk in 1/2 cup olive oil in 3 or 4 additions. Add cayenne and more salt if needed. Pass dip through a mesh strainer into a bowl. Serve at room temperature, garnished with olive oil and oregano.

ROASTED PEPPER SKORDALIA

Steps:

• Broil 2 large red bell peppers, turning, until charred, 15 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, cover and let steam 20 minutes. Remove the skin, stems and seeds. Puree the peppers in a blender with 1/4 cup each blanched almonds and lemon juice and 6 tablespoons olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Meanwhile, cook 2 russet potatoes (peeled and cut into chunks) and 6 smashed garlic cloves in salted simmering water until tender, about 12 minutes. Drain and return to the pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until dry, 2 minutes; remove from the heat and mash. Fold in the pepper puree. Drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice and top with chives.

SKORDALIA (GREEK POTATO AND GARLIC DIP)

Steps:

• Put the potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water by 2 inches and season generously with salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until very tender, about 30 minutes. Drain the potatoes and let cool slightly.
• Rub the skins off the potatoes and discard them. Coarsely chop the potatoes and puree them through a food mill or ricer into a medium bowl.
• Meanwhile, on a cutting board, lightly sprinkle the garlic with a generous pinch of the salt and smash it into a fine paste with the side of a cook's knife.
• In a food processor, combine the garlic, almonds, and oil and puree into a paste. Mix the oil mixture into the potatoes until incorporated; then mix in the 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon salt, water, lemon juice, and vinegar and season with pepper, to taste. Serve.

SKORDALIA (GREEK POTATO & GARLIC DIP)

Steps:

• Put the potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water by 2 inches and season generously with salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until very tender, about 30 minutes. Drain the potatoes and let cool slightly.
• Rub the skins off the potatoes and discard them. Coarsely chop the potatoes and puree them through a food mill or ricer into a medium bowl.
• Meanwhile, on a cutting board, lightly sprinkle the garlic with a generous pinch of the salt and smash it into a fine paste with the side of a cook?s knife.
• In a food processor, combine the garlic, almonds, and oil and puree into a paste. Mix the oil mixture into the potatoes until incorporated; then mix in the 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon salt, water, lemon juice, and vinegar and season with pepper, to taste. Serve.

ROASTED GARLIC SKORDALIA

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Put unpeeled garlic on a piece of foil. Drizzle with about 1 teaspoon of the oil, season with salt and pepper. Fold the foil in to form a neat little package. Roast for about 30 minutes, until the garlic is soft but not caramelized.
• Boil the potatoes until they are very tender, and drain. Let cool slightly.
• Puree the one garlic clove into a smooth paste, using a mortar and a pestle. Add a pinch of salt and place in a bowl.
• Cut off the heads of the roasted garlic cloves with scissors and squeeze the pulp into the bowl. Combine with the raw garlic. Drizzle in the wonderful oil from the foil package also.
• When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, but still warm, peel them and add one at a time to the garlic. You can fluff them in with a fork and mix until smooth.
• Drizzle in the remaining olive oil a bit a time, making sure to have a smooth puree before adding more oil. Season with the lemon juice, salt and black pepper.
• If you want a looser sauce, add some warm water or chicken stock.
• Serve right away, or keep at room temperature for few hours. If you need to keep it longer than that, refrigerate but return to room temperature before serving.

SKORDALIA (GARLIC DIP)

Steps:

• Boil the potato in a small pot of salted water.
• Add the 2 cloves of garlic and sea salt to a blender or food processor, and pulse until it becomes a thick paste. Add more garlic if desired. Squeeze the water from the bread, and drain the potato, reserving some of the cooking water. Add the bread and potato to the garlic paste along with the almonds and half the lemon juice. Process until the mixture is well combined, but still slightly coarse in texture.
• While the processor is running, start to slowly pour the olive oil into the mixture. If it is too thick, add a spoonful of the reserved potato water and continue to add the oil. Once the mixture becomes lighter in color and thinner in texture, stop and taste your creation. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and add a little of the remaining lemon juice. Taste again, and if you are lucky enough to have gotten it just right, put into a bowl or jar and reserve in the fridge for up to 1 week.
• If the skordalia seems unbalanced, use your taste buds to steer you in the right direction. If you want it more pungent, add more garlic. If the garlic flavor is overpowering, add a few drops of lemon juice. Season with more salt. Blend. Taste again. Repeat as many times as needed to get it where you want it. Skordalia needs to taste good to you, not to me.

ROASTED GARLIC

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Arrange heads of garlic on a baking sheet. Sprinkle garlic with olive oil. Bake for 40 minutes to 1 hour, when the garlic is soft and squeezable, it is ready. Remove, let cool, and serve.

SKORDALIA (GARLIC-WALNUT SAUCE)

Steps:

• In a small bowl, soak the bread in 1/2 cup water for 2 minutes. Remove excess water from the bread so that it is wet, but not dripping. Place bread and walnuts in the bowl of a blender or food processor and pulse until a paste forms. Add the garlic, olive oil and salt and process until well blended, scraping down the sides as necessary. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and stir in the lemon juice and vinegar. Adjust salt to taste. Serve with bacalao fritters (see recipe).