Potato Soup with Almonds, Garlic and Lemon

The Greek dip called skordalia is a puree of potatoes and garlic that’s enriched with a generous amount of olive oil. Occasionally nuts are added, and oftentimes lemon juice or vinegar, to lift the flavors. This pantry-friendly recipe takes those ingredients and turns them into a simple, flavorful soup. For safer pureeing—that is, to avoid hot liquid spouting out the top of the blender jar—allow the soup base to cool for about 5 minutes before blending, and process it in batches. You can use an immersion blender, if you own one, to puree the soup directly in the pot but the texture won’t be quite as silky-smooth.