Balkan Macedonian Makalo Garlic Potato Sauce 🧄✨

Description

Balkan Macedonian Makalo Garlic Potato Sauce is a creamy, bold, rustic sauce made with mashed potato, roasted garlic, lemon, olive oil, parsley, and sweet roasted pepper. It is thick enough to spread, soft enough to dip, and perfect beside grilled fish, warm bread, roasted vegetables, beans, or any Balkan table that needs one strong, garlicky spoonful. ✨

Hook ✨

Creamy potato, roasted garlic, lemon, olive oil, and sweet pepper turn this Balkan makalo into a bold sauce made for bread. 🧄

Ingredients

• Potato garlic base 🥔
• 🥔 350 g floury potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks (2½ cups / 12.3 oz)
• 💧 1 l water, for boiling (4 cups / 34 fl oz)
• 🧂 6 g fine sea salt, for boiling water (1 tsp / 0.21 oz)
• 🧄 30 g garlic cloves, peeled (8–10 cloves / 1 oz)
• Makalo sauce 🧄
• 🫒 90 ml olive oil or sunflower oil (⅓ cup + 1 tbsp / 3 fl oz)
• 🍋 30 ml lemon juice (2 tbsp / 1 fl oz)
• 🍷 10 ml white wine vinegar (2 tsp / 0.34 fl oz)
• 🧂 4 g fine sea salt (¾ tsp / 0.14 oz)
• ⚫ 1 g black pepper (½ tsp / 0.04 oz)
• 🌶️ 3 g sweet paprika (1½ tsp / 0.1 oz)
• Roasted pepper finish 🌶️
• 🫑 120 g roasted red pepper, finely chopped (¾ cup / 4.2 oz)
• 🌿 15 g fresh parsley, finely chopped (½ cup / 0.5 oz)
• 🌶️ 1 g chili flakes, optional (½ tsp / 0.04 oz)
• 🫒 15 ml olive oil, for gloss (1 tbsp / 0.5 fl oz)
• Serving 🥖
• 🥖 350 g warm crusty bread or lepinja (12.3 oz)
• 🥒 250 g raw vegetables, optional (2 cups / 8.8 oz)

Preparation

1. 1️⃣ Boil the potatoes 🥔
2. Place the potatoes in a pot with water and salt. Bring to a boil and cook for 15 min, until completely tender. Reserve 80 ml (⅓ cup / 2.7 fl oz) cooking water, then drain well.
3. 2️⃣ Soften the garlic 🧄
4. While the potatoes cook, place the garlic cloves in a small pan with 30 ml (2 tbsp / 1 fl oz) olive oil. Cook over low heat for 6–7 min until soft and fragrant, but not browned.
5. 3️⃣ Mash the base 🥔
6. Mash the hot potatoes with the softened garlic, garlic oil, salt, black pepper, and sweet paprika until smooth and thick.
7. 4️⃣ Emulsify slowly 🫒
8. Add the remaining olive oil little by little, mixing constantly. Add lemon juice and vinegar, then loosen with reserved potato water 1 tbsp at a time until the sauce becomes creamy, glossy, and spoonable.
9. 5️⃣ Add roasted pepper 🌶️
10. Fold in the finely chopped roasted red pepper and parsley. Mix gently so the sauce stays creamy but still has small red pepper pieces for texture.
11. 6️⃣ Finish and rest ✨
12. Drizzle with the final olive oil and chili flakes if using. Let the makalo rest for 10 min before serving so the garlic, lemon, and pepper flavor settle into the potato base.

Total Time

⏱ Prep: 15 min
🔥 Cook/Bake: 22 min
🛋 Rest: 10 min
⏰ Total: 47 min

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