Tarator or Skordalia

Name: Tarator or Skordalia
Yield: makes about 2 cups
Ingredients: 1 thick slice day-old bread; About 1 1/2 cups stock, preferably homemade (pages 160–163), milk, or water; 1 cup walnuts; 3 garlic cloves, peeled; 1 hot red chile, stemmed and seeded, or 1 teaspoon pure hot chile powder; 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste; Salt and black pepper to taste

December 14, 2011

A wonderful all-purpose sauce and mayonnaise substitute; use it for grilled meats, steamed vegetables, even chicken salad. For a milder sauce, reduce the garlic to one clove and substitute paprika for the chile. And there are lots of options for the liquid; the flavors of the other ingredients are so strong that it doesn’t matter all that much. Many cooks simply use a bit of olive oil and some water. Others use hazelnuts, pine nuts, or blanched almonds in place of walnuts; all are good. Be sure to see Chicken with Walnut Sauce (page 278).

Recipe notes

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