INGREDIENTS 1/2 cup olive oil 3 cups of peeled boiled chestnuts 5 cloves of garlic vinegar salt METHOD It is very important that chestnuts are still warm when starting the preparation. Smash the chestnuts until they become a smooth “pulp”. Add the mashed garlic and vinegar, and pour the oil while stiring with a spoon […]

INGREDIENTS 600 – 700 grams potatoes 5 garlic cloves 1 tablespoon vinegar 5 tablespoons olive oil Salt Method: Peel off the potatoes and boil them until soft. Then strain them. Place the garlic cloves together with a pinch of salt in the mortar and crush them. Remove from the mortar and save for later use. […]

INGREDIENTS 3 tablespoons minced garlic. 3 or 4 boiled potatoes, mashed. (or 6 slices white bread, crusts removed, soaked in 1/2 cup cold water and squeezed dry.) 1 cup olive oil. 1/3 cup white wine vinegar. Salt and pepper to taste. METHOD (Hand method) Combine garlic with mashed potatoes or bread in a mortar. Blend […]

INGREDIENTS 1garlic 1/2 kg breadcrumb olive Oil vinegar METHOD Wet the breadcrumbs in the water and then drain them well. Clean and crush garlic in a mortar or using a fork. Mix the drained breadcrumbs with the garlic. Stir well the mixture with a mixer until a smooth paste is obtained. Add olive oil and […]

In Greek: σκορδαλιά pronounced skor-thal-YAH My older family members would fix this using a mortar and pestle to first degrade the garlic with salt, then add other ingredients to create the purée texture desired. Today, I often use a food processor or hand mixer which makes things a lot easier and takes a lot less […]

SKORDALIA APO HTAPOTHOZOUMO Makes 4 to 6 meze servings This garlic dip is served just as aliatha, ayiatha, and others are—as an accompaniment to boiled greens, fried vegetables or fish, plain on bread, or as a side with Ithacan Fried Octopus . Four 1-inch-thick slices stale rustic bread Pan juices from cooking 2 small or 1 large octopus. Igredients: 4 to […]

TIGANITO HTAPOTHAKI APO TIN ITHAKI Makes 8 to 10 meze servings Octopus is the Lenten fare par excellence in Ithaca. There is plenty of it, it is rich and filling despite its associations with the fast, and it is cooked in several unusual ways. The following recipes were given to me by Mihalis Maghoulas, an Ithacan native who tinkers in […]

KEFALONITIKO LAGOTO This dish is traditionally made with wild hare in Cephalonia, but in its absence rabbit is often used. The name lagoto (lago means “hare” in Greek) is also found in parts of the Peloponnesos, where it refers either to a dish of hare or rabbit thickened with skordalia or, oddly, to pork stewed with skordalia. The Cephalonian version of […]

AYIATHA TIS KERKYRAS Another take on the pan-Mediterranean garlic sauce that accompanies fried fish and boiled vegetables. But Corfu’s version of ayiatha, as it is pronounced in the local dialect, calls for bread and almonds, as opposed to potatoes, as the base. Vinegar makes this garlic sauce slightly harsher in flavor than those that call for lemon juice. Locals tend to […]

ALIATHA TIS KEFALONIAS This is nothing more than the island’s own skordalia, the pungent dipping sauce made with potatoes and lots of garlic. Two things define the Cephalonian version: Aliatha is always made with potatoes and always with fish broth, preferably made from cod bones. It has a strong, acidic flavor since Greeks are not shy about using either garlic or […]