When a brand new Mediterranean speakeasy-style restaurant from the mastermind behind New York’s Bread’s Bakery opened final yr, you may wager we hustled our little hamentashens straight to Lamalo contained in the Arlo Lodge to see what the clatter was about. What we discovered was a trove of heat, recent coastal flavors impressed principally by the Mediterranean and the Center East, among the finest darn mezes we’d had in a very long time, and one dip I nonetheless take into consideration no less than as soon as every week. No, actually.
Meze, in the event you’re not acquainted, are Center Japanese or Mediterranean small plates usually served with some bread— laffa or pita bread—as a part of a multi-course meal or as salty snacks to accompany pre-dinner drinks. There are numerous varieties of meze and, relying on what a part of the world you’re in, you’ll discover a distinctive mixture of recipes like roasted eggplant dips (baba ganoush), creamy whipped feta dip, or savory strained yogurt with spiced oil, generally known as labneh. Hummus is a staple meze, in fact, as are different tahini dips with za’atar; a preferred spice pervasive in Center Japanese cooking.
As I labored my means by means of Lamalo’s impressed meze picks, served with signature sesame laffa, one notably creamy, garlicky, and potato-y dip rose above the fray. I needed to know extra.
Although proprietor Gadi Peleg is from Israel, his staff at Lamalo is wholly undiscerning about the place their recipes originate, simply as long as they’re good and, it appears, no less than vaguely Mediterranean. This consists of their skordalia (pictured heart within the header picture), a preferred Greek meze dip produced from cooked Yukon Gold potatoes, a great deal of uncooked garlic, oil, and almonds. Skordalia satiates that very same starchy craving house that may in any other case be reserved for mashed potatoes however is free from heavy butter and is usually served at room temp, making it excellent for summer season adventures that lead us removed from the stovetop.
Skordalia is simple to make with easy-to-find ingredients and will guarantee star-status at your next summer potluck or BBQ. Pureed raw garlic gives the smooth potato dip a sharp bite and subtle heat—as raw garlic will—a perfect dip to heap on top of fresh-baked pita or sesame laffa bread. Use slightly less garlic and skordalia transforms into a wonderful summer side dish to pair with lamb burgers, fish, or any other protein you can fit on the grill. A very worldwide replace on potato salad or “summer season mashed potatoes” and in the event you can’t make it into Lamalo your self, they’ve graciously bestowed a easy skordalia recipe upon us to make at residence.
Skordalia (Greek Potato Garlic Dip)
INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 pound sliced almonds
- 2 ounces bread with crust eliminated
- 4 Yukon Gold potato, baked and peeled
- 4 teaspoons garlic, finely chopped or grated with microplane
- 5.3 ounces apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 teaspoons kosher salt
- 9 ounces water
- chives for garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
- Salt the potatoes then bake at 350 levels till tender.
- Cool and peel potatoes.
- Mix almonds, bread, potatoes, and garlic in a meals processor and mix till all included however nonetheless semi-chunky.
- Drizzle within the water and vinegar whereas mixing on low.
- Slowly drizzle within the oil whereas mixing on low till emulsified.
- Season with salt, prime with a number of sliced chives & almonds and serve with heat pita, laffa bread, or as a facet.
