Pantzaria Me Skordalia (Roasted Beets with Garlic-Potato Spread)

(recipe from Saveur magazine)

4 medium red beets (about 1 1/2 lbs.), trimmed and cleaned
10 Tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup finely ground toasted walnuts
1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
6 cloves garlic, smashed and minced into a paste
2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1" squares and boiled until tender

Heat oven to 425F.  Put beets in an 8" x 8" baking dish and drizzle with 2 Tbsp. oil.  Season with salt and pepper and pour in 1 cup water.  Cover pan tightly with foil and crimp edges to form a seal.  Bake beets until a knife inserted into beet slides easily into the center, about 1 hour.  Transfer pan to a rack, carefully uncover, and let cool for 30 minutes.  Peel beets and cut into 1"-2" pieces; set aside.

Put walnuts, vinegar, garlic, and potatoes into a medium bowl and mash potatoes until smooth.  Vigorously stir in remaining oil and season with salt and pepper.  [I put whole toasted walnuts, vinegar, and whole garlic cloves into the food processor and pulsed until blended, then added the cooked potatoes and oil and pulsed all together until smooth.]

Transfer beets to plates and serve with some skordalia spread on the side.

(This is a Greek taverna dish which sounds odd but is surprisingly good.  Warning - that spread is super garlic-y!!  I made this when I was sick, so the garlic was kind of a welcome tonic.  Brought this to work for lunches with some beets and spread and a little bit of torn lettuce leaves mixed in.  Like I said, odd but good.)