Garlic Sauce and Kéa Festivities

Annunciation, a public holiday, commemorates the beginning of the struggle against the Ottomans and we collectively celebrate it feasting on batter-fried fish and skordalia (garlic sauce)!

I didn’t make skordalia (garlic sauce) this year, but Costas and I enjoyed it enormously during our lunch at Nisos tavern. The restaurant, along with others on the island, finally opened after the winter break, marking the unofficial start of the season which will peak in mid-April, just before Easter, April 20 this year.

Kéa’s grade school paraded at the port, then the older students delivered the day’s patriotic poems and essays, and then danced.

Then Costas and I walked along the port and sat outside enjoying the sun, drinking beer and feasting on a wonderfully crunchy batter-fried fish with delicious, if somewhat mild, garlic sauce.

We had a more rustic version of the traditional dish last year at Leloudas, an old tavern in Votanikos, during our winter visit to Athens.

The fish there was not the juicy fillets we had at Nisos, but bony pieces of bacala: cod that had been cured and preserved with salt.

Bacala, still a favorite in Barcelona, sometimes in Greece it is referred to as ‘mountain fish,’ because it was easily transported to markets all over the country.

It used to be food of the poor, usually braised with potatoes and carrots to feed the family, and became a staple in the diet of Catholic and Greek Orthodox populations on 'meatless' Fridays and during Lent.

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José Andrés’ Acclaimed Mediterranean Restaurant Zaytinya Splashes Into Culver City,

wrote Eater Los Angeles, announcing, along with other LA publications, the official opening of the forth Zaytinya, after DC, NY, and Miami. “The wood-fired oven will also turn out a whole dry-aged branzino sourced from Sherman Oaks’ the Joint Seafood, something chef [Michael] Costa says will be unique to the Los Angeles location,” writes the magazine.

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Garlic with almonds or walnuts, potatoes or bread

I use potatoes and skinned almonds in my white and smooth skordalia, while many Greek cooks, like the chef at Leloudas tavern, make it with soaked bread and walnuts, hence its darker color.

Turkish tarator is made in a similar way with lemon, bread, and walnuts, and should not be confused with the tahini-garlic sauces of Lebanon and other Arab countries, also called tarator (!)

Chef Uri Eshet, at Kea Retreat, adds cuttlefish ink to create this impressive black skordalia he serves with fried seafood.

At Zaytinya, the mild potato and garlic sauce is also paired with smoked salmon.

Photo by Thomas Schauer, from the ZAYTINYA book

Costas is not particularly fond of skordalia, although he enjoyed the mild one we had the other day. His objection is mainly related to the sauce’s pungent flavor that ‘kills’ most delicate wines, so it is difficult to pair when we serve it to our guests during our group lunches.

Fortunately the new, fruity retsinas, especially Roza, our favorite, complement the garlic sauce beautifully .

Besides fish, I like to serve skordalia with batter-fried eggplants, zucchini, peppers, and other vegetables. These seem to be our guests favorites.

The tipsy batter for incredibly crispy crust on fish, but also on fried vegetables, contains plenty of beer and vodka and is based on a recipe developed by British chef Fergus Henderson. See the recipe that is, of course, used for the best fish and chips.

Skordalia (garlic sauce)

It is better to make it a few hours, or a day before serving. Cover and refrigerate so that the flavors meld and develop.

If using, fold in the yogurt just before serving and drizzle with fruity olive oil.

Serves 5-6

2-3 medium potatoes, halved –depending on how mild you want the skordalia

Two 1/2-inch-thick slices sturdy white bread, crusts removed, soaked in water until softened, and squeezed dry (optional)

1/2 cup blanched whole almonds, soaked in water for at least 2–3 hours, preferably overnight, and drained

3–5 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice –or more, to taste

3-6 garlic cloves (to taste)

Salt

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more to drizzle

Freshly ground black pepper

1/2-1 cup thick, Greek yogurt, preferably full fat (optional)

Grated lemon zest (optional)

Cook the potatoes in a large saucepan of boiling water until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain and mash the potatoes. Set aside.

You can cook the potatoes up to 1-2 days before making skordalia. Mash, and refrigerate covered until needed.

Place the bread, if using, the almonds, 1 to 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice, the garlic (tart with 3 cloves or more, according to how strong you like the skordalia) and salt to taste in a blender or food processor and process into a smooth paste.

Add half the potatoes, oil, the remaining 1 to 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice and a few pepper grindings. Taste and adjust the flavor adding more potato or garlic and more seasonings.

If the sauce is too thick, stir in a few tablespoons of water.

If you like, fold in some thick yogurt just before serving, and sprinkle with lemon zest.