This garlicly mayonnaise goes well with raw vegetables, and all grilled foods, so we like to serve it during the summer, but it is also a nice accompaniment to meats and fish cooked in other ways.
Experiment by adding other flavors such as saffron, chipotle chile powder, or fresh herbs.
Aļoli
makes about 1 1/2 cups
8-10 garlic cloves, peeled
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 egg yolks
1 1/4 cups extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablepsoon plus 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon)
1 tablespoon warm water
1. With a mortar and pestle, pound the garlic & salt together into a paste. If you don't have a mortar and pestle, either finely mince the garlic with the salt, transfer it to a medium-sized bowl and mash it with a wooden spoon until it makes a paste, or mince the garlic and salt together in a food processor.
2. Whisk in the mustard and then the egg yolks and beat until they are light in color. (Also add any additional flavorings here.)
3. Slowly add 1/4 cup of the oil in a fine stream, until the mixture becomes thick. If you add the oil too quickly, the mixture will not emulsify.
4. Add the lemon juice and the water, mixing completely, then add the remaining oil very slowly, whisking constantly. If it becomes too stiff, like a commercial mayonnaise, add a teaspoonful of warm water until it is the consistency you like.
5. Taste for seasoning, and adjust with salt if necessary. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Best if served within 24 hours.
(photo: Shere.org)
Oh the heartache attmepting to make aioli has caused me. So many wasted eggs and cups of oil. I have not heard this method of adding only part of the oil, then the lemon juice and water. Perhaps using this technique I will finally be able to master aioli. Thanks.
I always make my hollandaise in the blender. This has been easy and foolproof for me. (Thank you, Mark Bittman!) Is this discouraged? I could see how with aioli you may not want to blend the garlic in the blender... am I missing something?
Grant,
The key is going as slowly as you can possibly stand.
Cara,
You just need to be sure not to over-blend the mixture, to still add the oil painfullly slowly, and to crush the garlic ahead of time so the blender is never whirring solely to break up potent pieces of garlic.
Mortar and pestle? Exerting myself, grinding and pounding my food with a piece of rock like a sweaty Mediterranean village cook of yore? After I just spent a fortune on a new AC unit and installation? Oh, Lord. Methinks not. Unless it's the droplets of sweat that fall in that make all the difference??? No, no and no. I thought I was a purist, but there are limits. Seriously.
AĆÆoli is, however, nothing but creamy concentrated garlicky goodness and if anyone hasn't tried it, by all means, everyone who reads the kitchen and is a human being should dive in. I've had it with french fries since ketchup is too sweet for me and it's a revelation. It will transport you to another time and tasty place.
Back in the days when I had a TV, it seemed like Emeril Lagasse was whipping some AĆÆoli up in his food processor every thirty-minute segment. If you're equipped with one of these, it might make the path to eating well much less sweaty.
i can think of nothing better than sweating over my mortar and pestle of an afternoon in search of the perfect aioli. that's what air con is FOR, after all. to chase away that summer 'oh, i can't cook anything, it's too hot to go in the kitchen' lethargy.
i swear, without my window unit and entourage of fans, i would eat only raw carrots dipped in (store bought) hummus all summer, with the occasional mixed green salad.
Works great with fired food like: Spanish fried croquettes, Argetinian empanadas, fried calamari and puertorrican fritters
Works great with fried food like: Spanish fried croquettes, Argetinian empanadas, fried calamari and puertorrican fritters
Ruth Reichl, editor of Gourmet mag loves the mortor and pestle for dressings.
"edow: What is your favorite kitchen item?
Reichl: My new black granite mortar and pestle Ā perfect for making salad dressing (among other things)."
There's a cute interview with Reichl at eatdrinkonewoman.com
http://www.eatdrinkonewoman.com/mt/princecharles.cgi/209
oops, the address is:
http://www.eatdrinkonewoman.com/2006/06/you_are_what_you_eat_ruth_reic.php