take a pot of smetana

Summer is barbecue time. And I just love the fact that I can throw almost anything onto the grill and it turns into a great meal with close to no effort, just a little sensitive timing. I mean, look at this:



This is basically nothing but a riff on my gambas con aioli. Only that instead of the delicious but rather heavy aioli I made a garlic smetana. Smetana is a close relative of creme fraiche, and is widely used in the cuisine of the region I am living in. It's got a relatively high fat contend, so it's far from being actually light, but much lighter than a purely oil-based aioli never the less.

And the recipe is basically the same as with the aioli, just instead of a mayonnaise base, you take a pot of smetana. Add the crushed garlic, the salt, honey and the lemon juice, and that's about it. Try it, you'll be surprised how versatile this dip is.