Aioli

By John, 3 February, 2013
Description

Preparing to make AioliAioli is a delicious Provencal sauce of the mayonnaise family, made from only olive oil, egg yolks, salt, garlic, and lemon juice.

It brings a summery elan to all sorts of foods, including steamed or boiled vegetables, strongly-flavored fish, shellfish, and broiled or grilled meats. A little goes a long way, and it stores pretty well, so you can make a pint of it and it will enliven several meals.

Aioli is tricky with wines. There's no sense pairing a fine old Bordeaux with this; try a young red or rose, or a minerally white that's not too sweet. 

Aioli in a Cauliflower BowlAioli is a key component of Le Grand Aioli, a wonderful and easy meal that you can scale up easily for many diners. It sings of summer, but our exploration of it on the first of February found it a welcome ray of summer sunshine in the dead of winter.

Yield
2 Cups
Preparation time
10 minutes
Ingredients
8 clv Garlic (smashed in a mortar)
1 t Salt
2 egg yolks (at room temperature)
2 c Extra-Virgin Olive Oil (at room temperature)
2 T Lemon Juice (at room temperature)
Instructions
  1. Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature.
  2. Crush the garlic to a paste with the salt. The salt really helps to grind up the garlic.
  3. Combine the egg yolks into the garlic, mixing well.
  4. Slowly add the olive oil just as in a mayonnaise. Drip it in slowly and steadily while stirring the yolks to incorporate the oil.
  5. Add a few drops of lemon juice, and continue with the oil, alternating oil and lemon juice as the mixture thickens.

You can go a little faster as the volume increases, but it is important to go slow at the beginning.

Notes

This is just a garlic mayonnaise. The differences are:

  • Garlic
  • Olive oil instead of a lighter oil
  • Yolks only, whole-egg substitution is out
  • No Dijon mustard or other ingredients