It's All Greek to Me

 Sometime around St. Patrick’s Day, I started thinking about how weird it is that we celebrate the feast day of the patron saint of another country as widely as we do in the US.  In fact, I challenge anyone to think of another such holiday that is celebrated so widely in the US.  I could not think of any so I decided that I wanted to expand my knowledge of cultures and food from around the world by celebrating different holidays.

On March 25, we celebrated Greek Independence Day – the day commemorating the start of the War of Independence in 1821 which ultimately liberated the Greeks from the Ottoman Empire.  With a little digging, I learned that one food traditionally consumed on Greek Independence day is cod in Skordalia (garlic sauce).  Lucky me, I just happened to have two pieces of cod in my freezer and everything called for in the Skordalia recipe.  Could I be any luckier?

Before I say anything else, I have to say that my husband loved this sauce – LOVED IT!  I think if I had let him, he would have been willing to bathe in it, he liked it so much.  If I choose to make it again, I am sure he would happily eat it.

Skordalia is one of those magic sauces that is really easy to make and the ingredient list is not a mile long.  That is always a bonus in my book.  In order to like this sauce, though, you have to like garlic – a lot.  It calls for EIGHT cloves of garlic so it probably is not one to make if you happen to be a vampire or are making dinner for a vampire.  It was excellent on the cod and I could easily see using it on pita chips or as a dip for vegetables.  The flavor was tangy with a nice bite and I would have liked to try more of it had I not been allergic to the lemon in it. 

I know.  Odd that I would choose to make a recipe when I am allergic to one of the ingredients.  I knew that a little bit would not hurt me and I really wanted to give it a try.  Though, I generally do not recommend that people cook with ingredients to which they are allergic.

Skordalia (Greek Garlic Sauce)

Makes About 1 Cup

Ingredients

·        2 russet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1-inch cubes

·        8 cloves of garlic, minced

·        Juice of 1 lemon

·        ¼ teaspoon of salt

·        ¾ cup olive oil

·        Additional salt to taste

Directions

1.    Place cleaned and diced potatoes in a pot with enough water to just cover them and boil until fork tender.

2.   Drain potatoes and allow to cool.

3.   Add garlic, lemon juice and ¼ teaspoon of salt to potatoes and mash by hand.

4.   Once potatoes have been mashed, either using a food processor of hand held immersion blender (you could probably make do with a regular hand blender), slowly drizzle in the olive oil in a steady stream until it is smooth and well blended.  You can add up to ¼ cup more olive oil using the same method for a creamier sauce.

5.   Season to taste with additional salt.

6.   Serve immediately, refrigerate any extra.

Mine separated a little as it sat.

What holidays from around the world do you celebrate?  Comment below and let me know!