Beet Skordalia + Variations: Greek Almond and Sweet Potato Dips

There is nothing better than a friend calling me up to come over, taste some amazing dip, dissect and recreate them ... oh yeah, and bring the kids and she will feed and watch them while I play in the kitchen with the ingredients that she bought. DREAM COME TRUE!

Needless to say, I wasted no time and was over the next day. She bought three skordalia dips from the farmers' market. They were super delicious but super expensive. We are all for supporting our local businesses but at one point we need to be practical and make things ourselves if we can. One dip original, one was beet and the other chipotle. They were all delicious! By the time I left her house I was so full from taste testing and adding a pinch of this and a dash of that, but it was worth it! We got all three dips down to what we thought was perfect.

I am currently on beet overload. I have pickled them, froze them, added them to my smoothies for breakfast, beet ice cream, beet cupcakes, we've had them for dinner for the past two weeks and have been living off of this dip during the day. I am about 32% beet as I type this!

I still equally the love the other flavors, but until I use some of these fresh garden beets I have, I won't be making the other flavors as much. If you've hung out with me in the past month, there's a good chance I've served this to you and many have asked for the recipe so I had to showcase the glorious beet!

I love harvest time! On a side note, my garden is doing terrible, but I am soaking up what my family and friends are sharing with me. Thank you everyone! I guess it's to be expected with a July baby ... it's not my fault (ha ha ha).

Beet Skordalia

Makes 2 cups

1 c blanched almonds
1 cup beets, chopped
1/2 c sweet potato, chopped
3/4 c olive oil
3 garlic cloves
1/4 c lemon juice
3 T basil
1/2 t salt

Preheat oven for 375 degrees F. Bake beets until they are soft. 

In a pot of boiling water, potatoes until they are soft. Drain.

In a food processor, add all ingredients together and puree until smooth. It should be the consistency of hummus. Enjoy!!!

Sorry, not pictures of these right now ... but enjoy them just the same. They are yum yum yum! Happy Harvest all!!

Plain Skordalia

1 c blancbed almonds
1/2 c sweet potatoes, chopped and cooked
1/4 c lemon juice
1/2 c olive oil
1 T basil
1/2 t salt
2 garlic cloves

Chipotle and Pepita Skordalia

1 c pepitas
1/2 c alomds
1/3 c sweet potatoes, shopped and cooked
2 T lemon juice
1/2 c olive oil
1 clove garlic
3/4 t salt
1/2 chipotle pepper, I use canned ... adjust according to your heat liking.