Sunday, September 21, 2008

An Ode to Garlic


I love you Garlic.
Potent, pungent,
Purple, white, and elephant,
Or roasted golden, sweet and mellow,
I can even kiss my fellow.
A must for pasta sauce,
Into stir-fries I toss,
Raw, minced in salad,
You satisfy my palate.
I love you Garlic.

Quick Aïoli
Printable Recipe

1 large egg
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 to 3 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Combine the egg, garlic, and mustard in a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. With the motor running, add the oil in a thin stream.


Add the lemon juice and pulse again. Season to taste with salt and pepper.


Makes about 1 ¼ cups. Traditionally, aïoli is made with just egg yolk rather than whole egg, and it’s made with a mortar and pestle or whisked by hand. I’m all for short cuts, so I use my trusty food processor. But since a single yolk wouldn’t come up to the blade in a food processor, making it difficult to get the emulsion started, I use the whole egg. The result is slightly less thick but still absolutely delicious. By the way, if you’re uneasy about eating raw eggs, use pasteurized eggs. For a milder tasting aïoli, use half olive oil and half grape seed oil or just a light olive oil. Store-bought mayonnaise pales in comparison to homemade aïoli. Try aïoli on sandwiches or as the base for salad dressings. Stir in minced fresh herbs and use as a dipping sauce for crudités, French fries, or calamari. Really, garlicky aïoli is great on just about everything. Keeps for a day or two tightly sealed in the refrigerator.

2 comments:

Nicole said...

Looks just heavenly! I love all things garlic... all things aioli!

Anonymous said...

My very first aioli, to eat or make and it turned out perfect! I had a little trouble with my food processor, it just doesn't work with small amounts, but the blender rescued me. Thanks for the great recipe and easy to follow directions, our sandwiches tonight were so delish.

Jennifer

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