Tarator Or 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.

BEEF TENDERLOIN WITH SKORDALIA

Steps:

• Prepare the beef: Mix the olive oil, sliced garlic and marjoram in a baking dish. Add the beef and turn to coat, then cover and marinate at room temperature, turning occasionally, 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, make the skordalia: Smash and peel the garlic cloves; warm in a small saucepan with the olive oil over low heat until soft, about 12 minutes. Meanwhile, peel the potato and cut into chunks. Cover with water in a saucepan, season with salt and simmer over medium heat until tender, about 12 minutes. Transfer the potato to a bowl with a slotted spoon, reserving the cooking water, and mash with a potato masher.
• Blend the almonds in a food processor until smooth. Add about half of the softened garlic, 1/2 cup of the garlic-flavored oil, 1/3 cup potato cooking water, the vinegar and 3/4 teaspoon salt; puree until smooth. Add the potato and pulse just until creamy. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the marjoram and parsley.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Remove the beef from the marinade and scrape off any garlic (reserve the marinade). Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the marinade, then sear the beef until browned on all sides, about 8 minutes. Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast until a thermometer inserted into the center of the beef registers 125 degrees, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 10 minutes.
• Slice the beef and serve with the skordalia. Top with the remaining garlic oil, softened garlic and more marjoram.

FRIED SMELT AND VEGETABLES WITH SKORDALIA

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, combine 1/2 cup of flour, semolina, salt, and pepper and mixes well. Dredge the fish in the buttermilk and then in the flour mixture. In a medium sized pot or deep fryer, heat 3 to 4 inches of oil and deep fry the fish until golden brown and becomes crisp. Remove fish and drain on paper towels. Serve with skordalia and a wedge of lemon.
• For Skordalia:
• Put the potatoes through a food mill or ricer and place in a bowl for mixing. Whisk in the cream, minced garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar and a little water if necessary mix until mixture is smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Keep cool until ready to use.

TARATOR - BULGARIAN COLD CUCUMBER SOUP

Steps:

• Cut the cucumbers into cubes and put them in a bowl. You may aslo grate them but it changes the look and the consistency.
• Beat the yogurt with a fork until it gets liquid and pour it over the cucumbers.
• Add the crushed garlic, the walnuts and the minced dill as well as salt and oil to taste.
• If needed add some water to make the soup as liquid as you like but take care not to make it too "thin".
• Put into the refrigerator to cool or add ice cubes.
• Serve cold.

CHICKEN WITH WALNUT SAUCE

Steps:

• Bring a pot of chicken stock or water to a boil (starting with stock will mean even more flavorful chicken and even better stock when you're done). Add the chicken, onions, carrots, celery, parsley stems, salt, and pepper; the liquid should just cover the chicken. Simmer, uncovered, over low heat, until the chicken is cooked through, about 30 minutes. Remove the chicken and cool to room temperature. Strain the stock and set aside.
• Put the bread in a bowl and saturate it with some of the stock. Squeeze any excess liquid out of the bread, then place it in a food processor with the parsley leaves, walnuts, garlic, and chile. Process until the walnuts are ground, then, with the machine running, pour in enough of the reserved stock to form a creamy sauce, about 2 cups. Reserve the remaining stock for another use.
• Season the sauce with salt and pepper. Carve the chicken and serve it with the sauce.
• Walnut Chicken Salad
• When the chicken is cooked, remove the meat from the bones and chop into small pieces; combine with enough of the sauce to create a chicken salad. Serve at room temperature.

SKORDALIA WITH BREAD (GARLIC DIP)

Steps:

• Remove the crusts from bread and soak in water.
• Peel garlic cloves, remove sprout if exists and crush them.
• Squeeze the water out of the bread.
• Put bread, crushed garlic, vinegar, lemon juice and salt in a mixer.
• Blend, while adding the oil drop by drop, until the mixture becomes smooth.

SKORDALIA SAUCE

Steps:

• In a food processor, pulse almonds, garlic, and bread until the almonds are finely ground. With machine running, pour in oil, then lemon juice and 6 tablespoons water. Season with salt and pepper.

SKORDALIA

Steps:

• Place the potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and bring slowly to a boil over medium heat. Cover partially, reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender all the way through when pierced with a skewer. Drain, return the potatoes to the pot, and cover tightly. Set aside for 5 minutes. Mash the potatoes through a potato ricer, a food mill, or in a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Do not use a food processor.
• Place the garlic in a mortar and pestle with 1/4 teaspoon salt and mash to a paste. Add the nuts and pound together (you can also do this in a food processor, but do not add the potatoes to the food processor). Stir the ground nuts and garlic into the potatoes. Gradually add the olive oil, stirring all the while with a fork or a pestle. Add the lemon juice or vinegar, and salt to taste. The mixture should be like loose mashed potatoes. Taste and adjust lemon juice, vinegar, and salt. Transfer to a bowl and chill until ready to serve. If the mixture stiffens up, thin out with a little olive oil or water.

TARATOR OR SKORDALIA

Steps:

• Put the bread in a bowl and saturate it with some of the liquid. Wait a couple of minutes, then put the bread in a food processor with the nuts, garlic, and chile. Process until the walnuts are ground, then, with the machine running, pour in enough liquid to form a creamy sauce.
• Add the lemon juice, salt, and pepper and serve immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to a couple of days.
• Omit the chile and garlic. With the nuts, grind 2 ounces fresh horseradish, roughly chopped. (See cautions about horseradish, page 607.) Or finish the sauce with prepared horseradish to taste, at least 1 tablespoon.