Almond Skordalia Food

TRADITIONAL GREEK SKORDALIA (GARLIC AND POTATO DIP)

Steps:

• Peel the potatoes cut in cubes and boil in water until soft, about 15 -20 minutes
• Once boiled, strain and mix with a hand mixer or potato masher until somewhat smooth.
• In a food processor process the garlic cloves with a bit of salt, and a few drops of olive oil until it is a paste.
• Add ½ of the olive oil in the food processor and continue mixing.
• Add the garlic paste to the potato and mix with a wooden spoon.
• Add the rest of the olive oil gradually, in a steady stream mixing until oil is absorbed.
• Add a bit of red wine vinegar for taste, mix well.

SKORDALIA

Steps:

• Take one pound of potatoes, peeled, diced and boiled until soft.
• Pour out the water and leave them in the pan a couple of minutes to dry out.
• Meanwhile you've taken two tablespoons of chopped garlic and prepared that with a teaspoon of salt and a half a cup of olive oil.
• The Greeks swear that you have to do this by hand, but I've done it with a blender and it works fine.
• You take the hot potatoes and dump them in the olive oil, salt, and garlic mixture, blend them up until it's smooth.
• Add a couple of teaspoons of lemon juice and then taste it, you might need a little more salt, a little more lemon juice.
• You want to get where it just kind of hangs on the bread.

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.

POTATO SKORDALIA RECIPE (GREEK POTATO AND ALMOND DIP RECIPE)

Steps:

• Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Add the almonds and boil for 1 minute. Immediately drain, rinse with cold water, and pat dry with a towel. Gently squeeze the almonds out of their skin; discard skins. Place the blanched almonds in a food processor or blender and process until finely ground.
• Place the salt and potatoes in a medium saucepan and add enough water to cover the potatoes by an inch. Boil for 12-15 minutes, under the potatoes are fork-tender. Drain and transfer to a large bowl.
• Mash the potatoes until smooth, then stir in the ground almonds and pressed garlic. Slowly drizzle the olive oil into the bowl while simultaneously whisking the mixture. Continue to whisk vigorously until the oil is emulsified and absorbed. Whisk in the vinegar. Taste and add additional salt as needed. Serve at room temperature.

ALMOND SKORDALIA

Steps:

• 1. In a medium saucepan, cover the potatoes with cold water and bring to a boil over moderately high heat. Cook the potatoes until they are tender when pierced with a knife, about 20 minutes. Drain, *reserve a little bit of the liquid*, peel, then pass the potatoes through a ricer into a medium bowl while they are still hot.
• 2. In a blender, combine the olive oil, almonds, water or potato cooking water, garlic, lemon juice and zest and puree until very smooth. Add more olive oil to help blend the ingredients well.
• 3. Stir the almond mixture into the potatoes until smooth.You can also stir in some plain yogurt at this point if desired, too. Season the skordalia with salt, a drizzle of olive oil, fresh herb garnish if desired and serve warm or at room temperature.

PERIYALI'S ALMOND SKORDALIA POTATO, ALMOND AND GARLIC DIP

Steps:

• Trim the crusts from the bread and spread the slices out on a tray to dry for about 24 hours.
• In the container of a food processor, place the almonds, garlic, and cooled potato. Process until smooth.
• Mix the lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and sugar in a small bowl and set aside. Fill a large bowl with cool water. Drop the dried bread into the water, 1 slice at a time. When it is soaked, squeeze about half the water from the bread between the palms of your hands. Add the bread to the ingredients in the processor, alternating with the lemon-juice mixture, and process until smooth. Since the skordalia has a tendency to stiffen and become pasty as it chills, the mixture should be quite loose at this point. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Scrape the mixture into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for several hours to allow the flavors to mellow and blend. If the mixture seems too stiff, beat in a little water before serving.

SKORDALIA (GREEK GARLIC AND POTATO SPREAD) RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Set cubed potatoes in a colander and rinse under cold water until water runs clear. Transfer to a large saucepan and cover with cold water by at least 2 inches. Season water with salt until it is salty like tears . Bring water to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until a knife easily pierces potatoes with no resistance, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain potatoes in colander, then rinse with hot running water for 30 seconds.
• Using a potato ricer or a food mill with the finest disk, mash potatoes into a large mixing bowl. Alternatively, thoroughly mash potatoes with a potato masher in a large mixing bowl.