Skordalia: The Classic Greek Garlic and Olive Oil Potato Dip

If you have ever wiped the last of a Greek meze spread from the plate with a torn piece of bread, chances are you have already met skordalia. This bold, velvety dip of potato, garlic and extra virgin olive oil is one of the oldest and best-loved sauces in the Greek kitchen. It is unapologetically garlicky, silky-smooth and completely plant-based, and it comes together with a handful of humble ingredients you probably already have at home.

In this guide you will learn what skordalia actually is, why the olive oil you choose makes all the difference, and how to make a perfectly balanced batch at home – smooth, punchy and never bitter. Pour La Vie.

What is skordalia?

Skordalia (Greek: skordaliá, from skórdo, meaning garlic) is a thick Greek dip and sauce built around raw garlic emulsified with extra virgin olive oil. The base can be potato, stale bread, or a mix of the two; the potato version is the creamiest and the one most people fall in love with first.

Traditionally it is served alongside fried salt cod (bakaliaros), crispy fried courgettes and aubergines, or simply with warm bread and a bowl of olives. It belongs to the same family of Mediterranean garlic sauces as aioli, but where aioli leans on egg, skordalia gets its body from potato and its soul from good olive oil.

Why the olive oil makes or breaks it

Skordalia has nowhere to hide. With so few ingredients, the flavour of your olive oil is not a background note – it is the whole song. A fresh, fragrant extra virgin olive oil brings a green, peppery, almost buttery richness that rounds out the sharp garlic and turns the potato into something luxurious.

We make ours with Jegit's extra virgin olive oil from the Peloponnese. It is hand-harvested, cold-extracted and naturally low in acidity, with the kind of lively, peppery finish that stands up beautifully to raw garlic. A tired, flat oil will make a flat skordalia, so this is the one place not to compromise.

A note on bitterness

If skordalia turns bitter, it is almost always down to how the olive oil is added. Beating the oil too aggressively in a blender can make good oil taste bitter, because the fast blades break down the olive fruit's natural polyphenols. The classic fix is to stir the oil in slowly by hand at the end, or to pound everything the traditional way in a mortar. More on that below.

Ingredients

Makes roughly one generous bowl, enough for four to six people as a meze.

• 500 g floury potatoes (such as Maris Piper or a good baking potato), peeled and cut into chunks
• 4 to 6 cloves of garlic, peeled (start with four if you are cautious)
• 120 ml extra virgin olive oil from the Peloponnese, plus extra to finish
• 2 to 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar (or the juice of half a lemon)
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, to taste
• 3 to 4 tablespoons of the warm potato cooking water, as needed

Optional, for serving: a little chopped parsley, a scatter of olives and warm bread or crackers.

How to make skordalia, step by step

1. Boil the potatoes. Place the potato chunks in a pot of cold, salted water, bring to the boil and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until completely tender to the tip of a knife. Reserve a cupful of the cooking water, then drain.
2. Make a garlic paste. While the potatoes cook, crush the garlic cloves with a good pinch of salt into a smooth paste using a mortar and pestle. This tames the raw bite and spreads the garlic evenly through the dip.
3. Mash while warm. Mash the drained, still-warm potatoes until completely lump-free. Warm potato drinks in the oil far more happily than cold, so do not let it sit.
4. Add the garlic and vinegar. Stir the garlic paste and the vinegar (or lemon) into the mash.
5. Stream in the olive oil. Add the olive oil a little at a time, stirring firmly with a wooden spoon or spatula after each addition, until the dip is glossy, thick and smooth. Adding it slowly is what gives skordalia its silky, emulsified texture.
6. Loosen and season. Beat in a tablespoon or two of the warm potato water until the consistency is soft and spoonable. Taste, and adjust with more salt, vinegar or garlic until it sings.
7. Rest and finish. Let it sit for 15 minutes so the flavours settle, then spoon into a bowl, make a well in the middle and pour in a final glug of olive oil.

Tips for the smoothest, most balanced skordalia

Keep everything warm as you work, mash rather than blend to protect the oil, and always add the oil gradually. If you love the ritual (and the silkiest result), pound the potato, garlic and oil together in an olive wood mortar and pestle – the gentle, rhythmic crushing is exactly how Greek cooks have made it for generations, and it keeps the oil sweet rather than bitter.

How to serve skordalia

Skordalia is endlessly generous. Serve it the classic way with crisp fried vegetables – courgette, aubergine or beetroot – or with pan-fried or baked fish. It is superb simply spread on warm, crusty bread, dolloped next to grilled meats and vegetables, or set out as part of a bigger meze table with olives, dips and a drizzle of good oil over everything. Leftovers keep in the fridge for up to three days; bring back to room temperature and stir before serving.

Frequently asked questions

Is skordalia meant to be this garlicky?

Yes – the name literally means garlic, so a real kick is part of its character. That said, you are in control. Start with four cloves, taste, and build up. The garlic also mellows slightly as the dip rests, so give it 15 minutes before deciding it is too strong.

Can I make skordalia without a mortar and pestle?

Absolutely. Crush the garlic with the flat of a knife and mash the potatoes with a masher or ricer, then stir in the oil by hand. Just avoid a high-speed blender or food processor for the oil stage, as the fast blades can turn extra virgin olive oil bitter.

Why did my skordalia turn out gluey?

A gluey texture comes from over-working the potato. Choose floury (not waxy) potatoes, mash them gently while warm and stop as soon as they are smooth. Loosen with warm potato water rather than beating harder.

Once you have made skordalia with a truly good olive oil, you will understand why Greeks have treasured it for centuries. It is proof that a few honest, natural ingredients – potato, garlic and real extra virgin olive oil – can become something unforgettable. Pour La Vie.