This easy Skordalia recipe with steamed beetroots is vegan and oh-so-delicious! This quick traditional Greek dip made with potatoes and garlic goes great as a dip or part of a mezze. I love mine with a generous topping of beetroot and parsley.
Easy Greek Skordalia with Beet
I first tried Skordalia at a restaurant in Mayfair. The dish was a salt-baked heritage beetroot served with a hazelnut skordalia and mixed seed granola. It was definitely this incredible menu that compelled me to go there!
I didn't know about Skordalia before this but looked up the recipe after sampling it.
The recipe that I am sharing with you may not be the traditional way of making the dip as it uses a blender for speed and efficiency. However, the flavours are phenomenal and dare I say - gives hummus a run for its money!
The zingy lemon juice and the addition of parsley give this whole recipe a wonderful imitation of the Mediterranean.
This dip is totally vegan and also gluten-free.
Why homemade dips are the best
You don't need to have a refined palate to recognize homemade vs shop-bought food.
Shop-bought products all have their benefits including convenience but often lack flavour or the flavour isn't exactly to our liking. They also contain preservatives.
Homemade dips are entirely controlled by you. You decide what ingredients go in. The end result is always a fresh-tasting product.
More often than not, homemade dips are also a lot cheaper.
They are also a lot easier to make than you might think. Take this recipe, for example, a quick prep of the potatoes and almonds, and then it is all thrown into a blender! Super easy!
Homemade food is a great way to get children involved in cooking and appreciating ingredients and food.
I love making dips at home from various cuisines. Some of my go-to vegetarian and vegan dips are:
Ingredients for Skordalia sauce
Potatoes - peeled and boiled. See below for types of potatoes.
Garlic - A LOT of garlic! We added around 5/6 cloves for 2 medium/large potatoes. We kept the garlic raw so thats you really get that kick of flavour. You can roast the garlic for a more subtle, sweeter taste before blending
Blanched Almonds - we prepared our own blanched almonds however you can buy ready blanched from the supermarket. Use other nuts such as cashew for alternatives.
Olive Oil - we used a good quality extra virgin olive oil. Again, be generous with the amount that you add!
Lemon Juice - we used freshly squeezed lemon juice however you can use bottled. White wine vinegar is a good alternative here.
Seasoning - salt
To serve:
Steamed Beetroots
Chopped Parsely
How to steam beetroot (stovetop and Instant Pot/electric pressure cooker
Trim the top of the beetroot, peel the skin and wash thoroughly.
Place in the steamer basket in your pan and pour in water to the bottom of the pot - around 3/4 cups. The water should be sufficient so doesnt burn but also does not rise far enough and tough the steamer basket.
Add beetroots to the steamer basket and steam for approximately 30 minutes, or until tender when pierced with a fork or knife.
Allow the beetroots to peel before cutting into cubes.
Instant Pot Beets
Trim and wash the beetroot
Place trivet in the inner pot and add roughly 2/3 cups of water to the bottom of the pot.
Place beetroots in a pan that can fit in your Instant Pot.
Close the lid and select pressure cook on HIGH for 15 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally (our beetroots were tender in 15 mins, you may find that you have to adjust these timings according to the produce that you have)
As the beetroots cool, you can easily slide off the skin.
Cut into cubes.
Which potatoes are best for Skordalia
Floury potatoes such as Russet, Maris Piper or Kind Edwards are best for mashed potato.
However saying that, I used basic supermarket all-rounder potatoes which still got me perfect skordalia that was not sticky.
How to blanch almonds
Place almonds and water in a microwave-safe bowl.
Cook for 3-4 min.
The skin will slip off the blanched almonds once slightly cool down.
How to make Potato and Garlic Dip / Skordalia
Peel and cut the potato into large cubes and rinse under the cold tap water to remove starch. Add in the saucepan along with water (keep the water level around 2" above the potatoes).
Keep the heat on medium.
Bring it to boil, and cook all the way through (piece a cube with a knife, if it slides off then the potatoes are cooked). I did not add salt at this stage
Drain and leave aside to steam
Blanch almonds if you do not have skinless almonds
In a blender, add almonds, peeled garlic and lemon juice. Blend until smooth paste forms.
Add half of the cooked potato to the blender along with generous glugs of olive oil and blend.
Add the remaining potato and olive oil and blend again.
What to do if Skordalia thickens
Skordalia should have the consistency of hummus. If it thickens, add a little water or I preferred to add a little more olive oil and mix thoroughly.
What sort of blender to use for Skordalia
A handheld or jug blender will work best for this recipe. The sauce will be too thick for immersion or stick blenders.
To get a glossy smoothness, I first blended the almonds, garlic and lemon juice together then added the rest of the ingredients.
Often when making skordalia by hand, the end finish can be lumpy if the potatoes have cooled before mashing. With a hand blender, it doesn't matter if the boiled potatoes are still hot or cold as you will get a silky smooth finish.
You do not need to blend for long as we do not want the Skordalia to become sticky and gluey. Once the sauce looks smooth, stop blending.
Vegan serving ideas with Greek Skordalia
Skordalia is traditional eaten with fish. A Greek friend of mine informed that it is often served with Hake.
To make this a fully vegan meal, I added chopped steamed beetroot and freshly chopped parsley.
You can also roast the beetroot and serve it on a bed of skordalia.
You could also serve Skordalia with crudites.
Toasted pitta bread is also an alternative.
How long does Skordalia keep?
The skordalia we made kept in the fridge and still tasted fresh after 2 days from making.
To eat again, leave out until it gets to room temperature.
Can you freeze Skordalia?
Skordalia can be frozen if stored in an airtight container. Ensure the sauce is completely cool or at room temperature before closing the lid so that no moisture accumulates on the lid of the container.
To defrost, place the container in the fridge. When thawed, leave out until it comes to room temperature.
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Vegan Skordalia with Beetroot
Ingredients
Instructions
- First, peel and roughly chop potatoes.
- Place them in the colander and rinse under the running cold tap water until water runs clear. This step is to remove the starch from the potatoes.
- Now add them with the water in the pan and bring it to boil on medium heat.
- Boil until well cooked through (it may take 10-12 minutes)
- Drain the potatoes using a colander and leave it aside for later use.
- Now make a paste of blanched almonds, lemon juice, salt and garlic in a blender fitted with a blade until you get a fairly smooth paste.
- Then add boiled and cooled potatoes and olive oil. Run the blender again until everything turns into a smooth and creamy dip.
- Transfer in the serving bowl, top it up with diced steamed beetroot, drizzle a generous amount of olive oil, sprinkle roasted almond flakes and parsley.
- Serve at room temperature and enjoy!
Notes:
You can use shelled walnuts instead of blanched almonds.
This dip meant to be Garlicky, but if you don't like strong garlicky flavours you may reduce the amount of garlic in this recipe or you may use roasted garlic which lends little sweet flavours.
For authentic flavours must use extra virgin olive oil.
Calories
627.19Fat (grams)
50.78Sat. Fat (grams)
6.20Carbs (grams)
39.44Fiber (grams)
7.15Net carbs
32.29Sugar (grams)
6.06Protein (grams)
9.86Sodium (milligrams)
321.02Cholesterol (grams)
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