Chef Dimitra
Aegean Taramosalata (Ταραμοσαλάτα)
Pale Aegean taramosalata is cured roe, soaked bread, lemon, and olive oil worked slowly until it turns thick and clean, made for lagana on Clean Monday.
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Mainland Potato Skordalia (Σκορδαλιά Πατάτας)
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Mainland skordalia is raw garlic, potato, olive oil, and vinegar beaten into a brave white dip for fried salt cod, beets, and the nistisimo table.
Appetizers & Snacks
Greek
Easter
Comfort Food
Make Ahead
20 min
Active Time
25 min cook•45 min total
Yield6 servings as a meze
Mainland potato skordalia is the garlic dip that stands beside fried salt cod, boiled beets, and the Lenten table. It is pale, thick, sharp with raw garlic, and softened only by potato and good olive oil. The region is the dish's surname here, because the islands may pound almonds or bread, while the mainland often reaches for potatoes.
The one rule is simple. Make the garlic into a true paste before you add the potato. A rough chop gives you little burning pieces; a paste spreads the garlic through the whole bowl, so every spoonful has the same thunderclap and the same calm after it.
Serve it at room temperature, never fridge-cold, with bakaliaros, fried salt cod, if you are keeping the old March table, or with beets and horta for a fasting meal. This is nistisimo food with teeth. I don't invent it. I find it, I test it, I write it down.
Skordalia belongs to the family of garlic sauces known across the Greek world, with mainland versions commonly thickened by potato or bread and island versions often using almonds or walnuts. Its best-known ritual pairing is bakaliaros skordalia on 25 March, the Feast of the Annunciation, when Orthodox fasting permits fish and salted cod became the practical choice far from the coast. In the Ionian islands the related name aliada points to Venetian contact, while the mainland name keeps the garlic, skordo, at the center.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
floury potatoes
Quantity
700g
unpeeled
garlic cloves
Quantity
6 large
germ removed if green
fine sea salt
Quantity
1 1/2 teaspoons
plus more for the potato water
extra virgin Koroneiki olive oil
Quantity
120ml
red wine vinegar
Quantity
35ml
fresh lemon juice
Quantity
20ml
warm potato cooking water
Quantity
2 tablespoons
plus more if needed
extra virgin olive oil (optional)
Quantity
1 tablespoon
for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| floury potatoesunpeeled | 700g |
| garlic clovesgerm removed if green | 6 large |
| fine sea saltplus more for the potato water | 1 1/2 teaspoons |
| extra virgin Koroneiki olive oil | 120ml |
| red wine vinegar | 35ml |
| fresh lemon juice | 20ml |
| warm potato cooking waterplus more if needed | 2 tablespoons |
| extra virgin olive oil (optional)for serving | 1 tablespoon |
Equipment Needed
- •mortar and pestle
- •potato ricer or sturdy hand masher
- •medium saucepan, 22cm
Instructions
- 1
Boil the potatoes
Put the potatoes in a saucepan, cover with cold water by 3cm, and salt the water well. Bring to a steady boil, then cook until a knife slides through the centers without resistance, about 20 to 25 minutes. Save a cup of the cooking water before draining.
- 2
Make garlic paste
While the potatoes cook, pound the garlic and salt in a mortar until you have a wet, sharp paste with no hard pieces left. Add the vinegar and lemon juice and work them in. This is the method that decides skordalia: raw garlic must be crushed smooth before the potato joins it, or the dip tastes hot in spots instead of clean and full.
If you don't have a mortar, mince the garlic very finely, sprinkle with the salt, and drag the flat of a knife across it until it becomes a paste. - 3
Mash by hand
Drain the potatoes, peel them as soon as your hands can bear it, and pass them through a ricer or mash them well by hand. Don't use a blender for potato skordalia. It wakes the starch and turns a good dip into glue, and nobody needs that lesson twice.
- 4
Beat in oil
Add the garlic mixture to the warm mashed potatoes and stir with a wooden spoon. Pour in the olive oil slowly, beating as you go, then loosen with 2 tablespoons of warm potato water. The texture should be thick, smooth, and spoonable, not runny.
- 5
Taste and rest
Taste for salt and brightness. Skordalia should bite. Let it stand for at least 20 minutes before serving so the garlic settles into the potato. Spoon it into a bowl and finish with a little olive oil pooled on top.
Chef Tips
- •Use floury potatoes, not waxy salad potatoes. You want them dry and willing to mash, because waxy potatoes fight you and make the skordalia heavy.
- •The garlic is meant to be raw. If it frightens you, start with five cloves, but don't roast it and call it the same dish. Roasted garlic is sweet. Skordalia is not shy.
- •Make it a few hours ahead, but serve it at room temperature. Cold dulls the olive oil and stiffens the potato, so take it out of the refrigerator early.
Advance Preparation
- •Make the skordalia up to 1 day ahead and refrigerate it covered.
- •Bring it to room temperature for 45 minutes before serving, then beat in 1 or 2 tablespoons of warm water if it has tightened.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 155g)
Calories
280 calories
Total Fat
20 g
Saturated Fat
3 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
17 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
700 mg
Total Carbohydrates
22 g
Dietary Fiber
3 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
3 g
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