Potatoes, the Greek way!
Potatoes are superfood! That’s not just me saying that as a potato lover. Potatoes HELP stabilize blood sugar despite what you may have heard to the contrary. The skin of the potato is full of important amino acids, proteins and phytochemicals. It’s also delicious. So NEVER peel your potatoes. Just scrub the dirt off with a kitchen scrub sponge and adjust your relationship with potato skin. The potato plant draws some of the highest concentrations of micro and macro nutrients from the soil, especially bioactive lysine which is essential in fighting the Epstein Barr virus. We all have Epstein Barr in our bodies but managing the levels is the critical part. Potatoes with their skin, either steamed or boiled, and drizzled with high quality olive oil are a fantastic thing to eat when you are feeling sick or battling any chronic condition. They are especially good at soothing your nerves (not the emotional nerves but your actual nervous system).
Lemon Potatoes and Skordalia are two super delicious ways to enjoy potatoes the Greek way. There are many different versions of each recipe.
For the Lemon Potatoes, some recipes call for boiling then roasting the potatoes and another added a semolina coating. But many recipes are an easy one dish bake method and that’s the one I’m sharing. Lemons have highly absorbable Vitamin C and I just love their brightness. So I always top my Lemon Potatoes with lemon zest at the end and hit them with more fresh juice because I can't get enough. But that's just me.
Skordalia is a garlicky dip/sauce made with either potatoes or stale bread. I prefer the potato version. I’ve seen recipes that boil the potatoes and some that bake the potatoes whole and scoop out the flesh. I’m sharing the boiled method but either way works. There are two keys to skordalia. First, use a Russet or a gold potato for the best texture. I like golds that have super thin skin because I don’t peel potatoes, EVER. If I have a potato that has a thick skin, I’ll do the baked potato method and then I will fill the shell of the potato - that is not needed or the skordalia recipe - with sauteed vegetables and cheese for a second meal, because I can’t bare to throw out a baked potato shell. It's too delicious and healthy!
The second key to skordalia is to just mash them by hand and set aside to mix with the other ingredients that have been pureed in the food processor. You don’t want to overprocess the potatoes because it will develop the starch into a gluey mess. We want to use the potato’s starch to soak up the other ingredients so we need it to be fluffy and available.
Our farmers at the Doylestown Farmers Market are bringing Lehigh Gold, Yukon Gold and Russet potatoes this week which are perfect for both of these recipes.
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