Skordalia, your summer puree!

Do you believe that garlic can be much more than you imagine?

That's why today we're going to travel to the Balkan Peninsula and discover a typical dish from southern Europe: Skordalia, a delicious Greek purée made with garlic!

And why garlic? Garlic is a superfood composed of allicin, a sulfur compound that gives garlic its powerful flavor. Allicin provides several health benefits. Allicin is a pesticide, antibiotic, antifungal, and antiviral, meaning that garlic can suppress the growth of almost any microorganism.

But its most renowned benefit is its effect on the circulatory system. This compound reduces blood pressure and prevents platelet coagulation, meaning it thins the blood and breaks down blood clots. You can read more about the superpowers of our garlic, its ancient history, and its benefits here .

Greece, Ooh La La… Greece is known for its alluring views, pleasant music, and fresh, nutritious food. In fact, the sea-dotted country is home to several blue areas—places where inhabitants typically live for over 100 years and in good shape. With that in mind, let's take a look at a rather local version of Skordalia. This dish is an excellent garlic-based side or mezze , great for invigorating any dish, from cooked beets to salted cod.

Let's get started! This is our Skordalia recipe:

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Servings : 3-5 (depending on how much garlic you can eat!)

This side dish is completely vegan, so without further ado, let yourself be carried away by the music of the bouzouki and start cooking!

• 5 cloves of garlic
• 1 portion of white wine vinegar or fresh lemon juice
• 3 slices of dry bread or 1 cup of nuts
• Oil
• Salt and pepper

Soak 3 slices of bread in a bowl of water. Peel 5 cloves of garlic and crush them with a mortar and pestle. If you don't have these utensils, a blender will be a great substitute. Add the soaked bread to the garlic and mix them together.

For a lighter version of the dish, you can use a cup full of nuts instead of bread, and for a richer version, replace the bread with 1 cooked potato.

• Add half a cup of olive oil and season the mashed potatoes with salt and pepper.
• Finally, you add a dash of white wine vinegar or lemon juice and mix everything again until it reaches an oatmeal consistency.
• And there you have it! You've just made skordalia!

Simply add a little olive oil on top and eat it with the nearest piece of food that your hunger can grab.

Bon appétit, or as they say in Greece: kali oreksi (καλή όρεξη)!