Skordalia Is A Dip For Hardcore Garlic Fans

My husband and I recently hosted an all-garlic dinner party, so I had to stand out from the pack with something extremely garlic-forward. The most potent garlic thing I could think of was my friend Stephanie's skordalia. She offered the chilled potato-garlic-lemon spread to me at work once with some sesame seed bread, and I knew after eating it I no longer needed to fear spring colds or vampires. The Greek potato-garlic spread offered a creamy, delicious, yet aggressive garlic assault which, if you love garlic like I do, was welcome, especially spread on crusty bread. She then generously offered me her family skordalia recipe for my upcoming gathering.

Skordalia then turned out to be perfect for my garlic dinner party, inherently pleasing to a bunch of people hanging out in the pungent ether together. Although I found that one full bulb of garlic was plenty, if you're a diehard like Stephanie, feel free to add even more.

Gwen Ihnat

• 2 Tbsp. salt
• 4 large potatoes
• 1 bulb garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 3 Tbsp. lemon juice

Add salt to a pot of water and bring to a boil. Add potatoes and cook at a rolling boil until the potatoes are tender, about 15-20 minutes. Drain water, reserving about one cup; set aside. Return potatoes to pot and mash completely. Add garlic, oil, and lemon. Using a hand mixer, combine until all ingredients are smooth. If necessary, add a little bit of the reserved water to make the dip smoother.

Chill for a bit to avoid your dip being confused with any garlic mashed potatoes on the table, though with one bite your guests will know the garlic/potato ratio here is considerably toward the garlic side. Sprinkle with herbs (parsley, chives) and serve with crusty bread.