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Skordalia

A creamy Greek garlic dip made with mashed potatoes, olive oil, vinegar, and optional egg yolk.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Garlic and olive are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 25,665 recipes. Both carry linalool, which smells floral, citrus. The science ↓

Skordalia

Ingredients

Directions

Make the skordalia

  1. Peel the cloves of garlic and pound to pulp in a mortar or heavy bowl.

  2. Add the mashed potatoes and continue pounding until thoroughly blended.

  3. Beat in egg yolk.

  4. Add the olive oil, vinegar or lemon juice and water, if needed, alternately, a little at a time until all are used up. Continue stirring briskly for a smooth sauce.

  5. Season to taste and stir again until well blended.

Store

  1. Cover and store in a cool place.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

383Calories
12 gProtein
19 gFat
44 gCarbs

Counts 8 of 9 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Garlic + olivetop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together25,665 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  2. Garlic + potatotop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,517 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  3. Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  4. Potato + olivetop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,458 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).

  5. Garlic + peppertop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,090 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Garlic
Provides the sharp, pungent flavour that defines the sauce.
Mashed potatoes
Gives the sauce body and a thick, creamy texture.
Olive oil
Adds richness and fat, emulsifying into a smooth, silky sauce.
Vinegar or lemon juice
Adds acidity that brightens flavour and balances the oil.
Egg yolk
Helps emulsify the oil and vinegar, stabilising the sauce.

The step that matters

Adding the oil and acid. Oil must be added slowly, a little at a time, and beaten in well. Adding it too fast can break the emulsion, leaving the sauce oily and separated instead of smooth and thick.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (garlic, potato, olive, vinegar, pepper, egg):

  1. Parsleyfits better
  2. Dillfits better
  3. Thymefits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against garlic, potato, olive, vinegar, pepper, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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