Kefalonian Pantzarosalata with Aliada (Παντζαροσαλάτα με Αλιάδα Κεφαλονιάς)

Kefalonian pantzarosalata is beets and their greens under aliada, the Ionian island's potato skordalia. The roots are boiled in their skins until sweet, the leaves cooked just until the stems give, and everything is dressed warm with vinegar and green-gold oil before the garlic sauce goes on. It is a salad, yes, but it eats like a meal with bread beside it.

The method that decides it is the aliada. Mash hot, starchy potatoes by hand with garlic pounded in salt, then work in the olive oil slowly. A machine makes paste. By hand it stays light enough to sit over the beets without smothering them.

I learned this version from a Kefalonian cook who corrected me every time I said simply skordalia. Aliada, she said, because the island remembers its own words. I don't invent it. I find it, I test it, I write it down, and this one needs only beets, garlic, oil, vinegar, and patience.