Making skordalia is easy. Making skordalia with walnuts is easier. This was the first time that we have ever made it this way, but when reading through cookbooks and websites, each time we read a recipe for this variation of skordalia, it just seemed like it would be the most delicious food in the world. We also know that walnuts bring so many health benefits to a body. Nuts, in general, can be healthy foods, and they are good for snacking, but we don't always know how to incorporate nuts into a main dish or a meal, without making dessert. In fact, nuts are an extremely important component of the Greek (Mediterranean) Diet.
So, finding a way to add them through skordalia sounded like it would bring another healthy aspect to some of our foods. So, we tried it. We made skordalia from walnuts. We followed our instincts after having read about twenty cookbooks and a dozen websites. The recipes we read had basically the same directions each time, so we used our courage and tried it without following an exact recipe. We can tell you that we referred to the recipes when we were unsure to use a lot or a little of the garlic and vinegar. We found that using courage (cooking instinct), as well as your cookbook is sometimes a very good idea.
You will need
1 cup dried walnuts (small pieces or walnut halves)
3-5 cloves garlic
5 pieces stale white bread, crusts removed
some water to dip the bread
5 pieces stale white bread, crusts removed
some water to dip the bread
3-5 teaspoons of wine vinegar
1/2 cup oil, and some extra for garnishing
and a food processor.
OK, maybe you dont' need a food processor, but it sure does make this process easier.
First, we want to make a note that some of the recipes called for toasting the walnuts a little. You can do this by tossing them in a dry frying pan, or by laying them on a baking tray set in a warm oven. The more we read, the more we learned that by toasting the nuts, the skordalia has a more pronounced nut flavour. If you choose to have a more mild flavour, then do not toast the nuts. We opted for the mild flavour as we had never made it or tasted this recipe before.
Start by removing the crusts from the bread. You can use any white bread, but make sure there are no seeds or nuts in the bread -- it should be straight white bread. We used some stale homemade bread, and just cut off all the crust. White sliced bread is fine, too. Set the slices aside for now.
In the food processor, put the walnuts and garlic. Mix these together until there is no differentiation between the two. You will notice the oil coming out of the walnuts and making this a little sticky in the food processor in a paste-like consistency. That's okay, but you will be better off to have less smooth walnuts.
First, we want to make a note that some of the recipes called for toasting the walnuts a little. You can do this by tossing them in a dry frying pan, or by laying them on a baking tray set in a warm oven. The more we read, the more we learned that by toasting the nuts, the skordalia has a more pronounced nut flavour. If you choose to have a more mild flavour, then do not toast the nuts. We opted for the mild flavour as we had never made it or tasted this recipe before.
Start by removing the crusts from the bread. You can use any white bread, but make sure there are no seeds or nuts in the bread -- it should be straight white bread. We used some stale homemade bread, and just cut off all the crust. White sliced bread is fine, too. Set the slices aside for now.
In the food processor, put the walnuts and garlic. Mix these together until there is no differentiation between the two. You will notice the oil coming out of the walnuts and making this a little sticky in the food processor in a paste-like consistency. That's okay, but you will be better off to have less smooth walnuts.
Next is the bread. Take one piece of bread and put it in the bowl of water. Allow this to soak for a moment, and take up some of the water. Our bread was airy and we held it under the water to make sure to soak up the water. We saw the bubbles coming to the surface of the water to know that the bread was absorbing the water. Once the bread is saturated with water, squeeze the bread to drain the excess amount of water from the slice. You don't have to squeeze too hard, but enough that the slice of bread feels like a damp sponge in your hand. That's when you know you have squeezed enough. Then, put that in the food processor. Do this for all 5 pieces of bread. Put them all in the food processor.
Pulse the food processor several times to get everything chopped and blended. You can still see the texture of the walnuts in the mixture. Now, add the salt, pepper, and about 2 teaspoons of the wine vinegar. Pulse again to combine everything. Once again, you will see the texture change, and the mixture may turn into a ball in the food processor. This is from the walnut oil binding everything together. Now, you have to add the 1/2 cup oil to smooth this out. Pour the oil in a slow and steady stream through the hole at the top of the lid. That will make the mixture fluffy and light. Run the food processor on a steady speed while adding the oil.
Next, put this into your serving dish and cool in the refrigerator until you are ready to eat it. It is good at room temperature, also! If you want some texture to this skordalia, reverse the order when adding ingredients; start by chopping the garlic with the bread, salt, and pepper. Add the vinegar and the oil. The last step would be adding the walnuts. Then, use the pulse function to chop the nuts just as much as you want, leaving them a little grainy or chunky. And, enjoy. We all did! Mind you, there will be people who will find the different texture of this dish startling, given the "Skordalia" moniker!
Even though we had not made this before, and this was the first time many of us had tasted such a thing, this dip was a big success! The sweetness of the walnuts, combined with the bite of the garlic really complemented our dinner. A few of our tasters were very surprised that we could do this with walnuts. We know that this dish is made in parts of Greece where walnut trees are plentiful. Today's dish was a tasty, and very different alternative version of skordalia. It was also satisfying to know that we were using walnuts - a very healthy component of the Greek diet to add to our meal. For sure, this recipe stays on our list of foods to make regularly!
"I went down into the garden of nuts to see the fruits of the valley, and to see whether the vine flourished, and the pomegranates budded."
- King James Bible "Authorized Version", Pure Cambridge Edition
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