Thick and creamy Mediterranean dipping sauce. This Dairy-free recipe is made by whisking crushed garlic into egg yolks, olive oil, mustard and lemon juice.
Aioli is a garlic dipping sauce from the Mediterranean that is traditionally served with cold cuts of meat, boiled eggs or raw vegetables. The creamy, pale yellow sauce is often described as garlic mayonnaise, since the recipe follows the same principle – that is, a stable emulsion is created by whisking oil a bit at a time into a mixture of egg yolk, mustard and an acid. Besides the addition of a good whack of garlic, Aioli differentiates itself by supplementing a neutral-tasting oil base with extra virgin olive oil.
Recipes for using up the leftover egg whites:
100ml
Aioli (garlic mayonnaise)
Ingredients
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg yolk (at room temperature)
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 cup (60ml) light olive oil
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) extra virgin olive oil
- pinch of freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Sprinkle the salt over the garlic cloves and mince to a paste using a pestle and mortar, or crushing and scraping with the flat side of a heavy knife.
- Scrape the garlic paste into a bowl and add the egg yolk, lemon juice and Dijon mustard. Whisk until fully blended using a balloon whisk.
- Combine the two oils. Add a tablespoon of oil to the egg mixture, whisking briskly until the oil is fully blended and emulsified. Repeat, adding a tablespoon at a time, until all the oil has been added. Add the pepper, taste, and adjust the seasoning if necessary. The sauce will gradually thicken with each additional tablespoon, until you get a thick, pale yellow sauce. It is important not to rush this step and pour in too much oil in one go, as this will cause the sauce to split – that is, the emulsion will break down, causing the oil to separate from the egg. If this happens, put another egg yolk in a separate bowl. Add the separated mixture, a tablespoon at a time, whisking until fully blended.
