Roasted Beets with Skordalia

Skordalia: A garlic lover's wet dream.  I first had skordalia with my mother in a Greek restaurant when I lived in Chicago.  The garlic in this dish hit us like a roundhouse kick to the face!  It's a puree of potato, a massive amount of raw garlic and a bit of vinegar.  At the restaurant, they served it with cold beets (probably boiled).  The first time I made it, to introduce it to Justin, I opted for roasting the beets and that's how we've made it ever since. 

It's got a mean garlic bite and is not for the garlic-whimps.  This is the stuff of nightmares for all city transit commuters!  And it's awesome.

The serving options are pretty limitless - it's a dip, a spread, a puree, a sauce.  We put it on roasted veggies, we dip fresh veggies in it, we use it as a spread in sandwiches.  We've eaten it with beef, pork, chicken.  Traditionally it's served with fish.  Tonight I toasted some baguette, spread the skordalia on it, sliced some tomato and fresh mozzarella real thin and laid it on top of the skordalia, then drizzled a basil-lemon vinaigrette over it all.  'Bout the best thing I've ever had! 

I had The Queers' "Fuck This World" in my head the other day.  And we haven't thrown any Queers up on the blog yet.  -jen

 

ROASTED BEETS

Time:  40-45 minutes

Difficulty:  Easy

Serves:  3-4 servings

• 4 cups beets (about 4 medium-sized beets),  peeled and diced into 1/2"-3/4" cubes
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Toss diced beets with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet (I always line mine with foil to save on clean-up).  Bake at 400 for 35-40 minutes until edges start to brown, tossing halfway through baking time. 

SKORDALIA
Time:  20 minutes

I used some purple hard-neck garlic we got at the Farmers Market!

Difficulty:  Easy 
Makes:  2.5-3 cups
*requires a food processor - or try a blender or beaters at your own risk, I've only used the food processor!

• 4 large baking potatoes (1.5-2 pounds), diced into 1" cubes
• 12 cloves of garlic
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup white wine vinegar

Place diced potatoes into a large stock pot.  Put enough cold water in the pan to just cover the potatoes.  Generously salt the water.  Over a medium-high heat, bring the water and potatoes to a boil - once the boil is reached, cook for 6-7 minutes until potatoes are fork-tender.  Drain. 

Combine potatoes, garlic, salt and pepper in a food processor and pulse together several times.  Then turn onto a medium speed and drizzle in 1/3 of the olive oil, then 1/2 of the vinegar.  Repeat and end with the last of the olive oil until combined.  Serve hot or cold.