Skordalia (Greek Potato-Garlic Dip)

Skordalia is a traditional Greek appetizer dip made with whipped potatoes flavored with fresh garlic, almonds and olive oil. Serve at room temperature or slightly warm with warmed pockletless pita triangles or with crispy oven-roasted eggplant and zucchini.

This recipe is from 'Vegan Eats World' cookbook. I was so excited to see this creamy potato dip recipe that I made it right away for the Buffet on Table -- Condiments week, only to realize that I already had a dish from Greece, so moved this over to this week's Cooking from Cookbook Challenge.
This potato dip tastes a lot like mashed potatoes but soooo much better. It is thick and perfect to scoop up with a pita wedge or just as is by the spoonfuls. My potato loving son liked it a lot too.
I took these pictures inspired from Simi's tutorial on 'White-on-White photography', mine are nowhere close to hers but her post sure gave some much needed tips on how to take these photos.

Ingredients:

Russet potatoes - 2 medium, peeled and chopped into 1" cubes
Garlic - 3 cloves, peeled and finely minced
Blanched Almonds - ½cup 

Olive oil - ¼cup 

Lemon juice - 2~3tbsp
Sea salt - to taste
Dried Oregano - ½tsp

Method:

• In a large pot, cover potatoes with cold water and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and cook till very tender, about 15~18 minutes.
• Turn off the heat and reserve ½cup of the potato cooking water, then drain the potatoes.
• When the potatoes are warm enough to handle, put them in a potato ricer and press them into a mixing bowl. Alternately they can be mashed with a masher until no large lumps remain.
• Sprinkle salt over the potatoes.
• In a blender or food processor, pulse the garlic, almonds and olive oil into a smooth sauce, scraping the sides of the blender down with a rubber spatula.
• Add the almond mixture to the mashed potatoes along with the lemon juice and oregano.
• Add 2tbsp of reserved potato water and mix well to thoroughly combine. The Skordalia shold be very thick and slightly stiff; if too thick, add in a tablespoon of more of potato water. Taste and season with more salt and lemon juice.
• Spread it in a shallow serving dish. Drizzle with olive oil on top and sprinkle cracked pepper and dried oregano, then garnish with a few olives in the center. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Linking this to Valli's 'Cooking from Cookbook Challenge: September -- Week 4'.