Easy Skordalia Recipe

One look at a picture of skordalia and you'll know that it's something you very much want to eat (the wonderful aroma certainly helps), but you might not know is exactly what you're looking at. Chef and recipe developer Catherine Brookes of Blue Sky Eating explains that "skordalia is a traditional Greek dish; [it's] a thick dip made with garlic, olive oil, vinegar, and a base of some kind of starch."

Sounds simple enough, right? Well that's because it is, but it also strikes an elegant balance, too. The classic flavor blending of vinegar, oil, and garlic are on perfect display here, backed up by the potatoes and finished off with salt, the secret "sauce" of just about every great recipe.

Okay, so now you know what skordalia is made of, but what is the best way to enjoy it? There, the answers are many. It can be a dip, either spread onto bread or scooped out by chips or crackers. It can be spooned into a wrap. It can be enjoyed as-is, like a side dish. You can spice it up and top it off with a number of herbs, so you'll never get bored with this tasty dish!

So you probably picked up on this already, but it really does not take much to make this tasty dish. All you need are the potatoes, some oil, some red wine vinegar, salt, and garlic. "For this recipe I've gone with potato but sometimes you'll see it made with walnuts or soaked bread," Brookes notes. So, once you perfect this recipe, don't be afraid to get creative when you make it again!

Peel and chop the potatoes into chunks about 1 to 1 ½ inches — as long as the pieces are close enough in size to cook evenly, you're all good. Add the peeled and chopped potatoes to a pan of boiling water over, then reduce the burner to a medium heat and boil them for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork tender. Then drain the potatoes and return them to the pan.

Add half of the olive oil (¼ cup) to the potatoes and mash them until smooth with a hand masher. "Be careful not to over mash the potatoes, and don't be tempted to put them in the food processor or they will end up gluey," says Brookes.

Next, add the other ¼ cup of olive oil, the garlic, the red wine vinegar, and the salt to a food processor and blitz until the garlic is broken down and these are all well combined. Then pour that mixture into the pan with the potatoes and stir everything together with a wooden spoon.

Now transfer the skordalia to your serving bowl of choice, because for all intents and purposes, you're done! But you can drizzle a little extra olive oil over it and garnish with some fresh chopped parsley, if desired. And if you have leftovers, which is not likely, Brookes says that "[leftovers] can be kept covered in the fridge for two days."