Hi everyone,
I just posted a pic on Facebook of a batch of Aioli I made this afternoon and one of my friends asked for the recipe. Easy done I thought, I’m sure it’ll be on my blog somewhere – but I couldn’t find it! High time I rectified this incredible oversight!
I’m not a true mayonnaise connoisseur like some of my friends and in truth, I rarely eat it. I do like to make this however in summer and autumn, when eggs are plentiful and garlic is still fresh and pungent. And I dug late potatoes this morning, a Dutch cultivar called Patrone that are apparently a fabulous salad potato. I’ve never grown them before, so this week will be full of interesting taste tests 😀
Home grown/made potato salad and Aioli is one of those dishes that is sex on a plate, everything about it screams wonderful. The texture of the potato cubes, their earthy flavour against the rich, creamy Aioli, with the pungent garlic and the lemony tang at the finish. You get the picture? This is love! And I make this only three, maybe four times a year, when everything required is in season.
So, here’s the Aioli recipe. Please bear in mind several things. Firstly this uses raw eggs so always get them from a reliable source and be assured they are fresh. Secondly, that I make this by feel and taste and recommend that you do the same. I used 8 eggs for this batch as I’m giving a pot to a mayonnaise-obsessed friend too. My rule of thumb is a clove of garlic per egg yolk and it works well for me. The finished Aioli will keep for a week in the refrigerator, though it usually disappears very quickly at my place!
Aioli
Egg yolks Fresh minced garlic Olive oil Lemon juice Salt
In a clean bowl separate the eggs (I freeze the whites for later use in baking). Crush, peel and mince the garlic (I sprinkle a little salt on the crushed, peeled cloves and mash it in with the flat of a cook’s knife, making a particularly fine mince). Add this to the eggs and beat them well until they’re frothy. Here, you can use a hand beater but I prefer a balloon whisk.
7 eggs that looks like 8 – spot the double-yolker!
Very slowly add the olive oil while beating the egg mixture. A thin drizzle is best – you really don’t want this to split! (I put a teatowel on the bench to stop the bowl from flying away too). For my 8 egg yolks I used a very generous cup of my Basil Oil for an extra summery note but any good extra virgin olive oil will be fine. Keep beating until the consistency is like thick cream. Once you’re happy with this, start adding the lemon juice. I recommend beginning with half a tablespoon per yolk and do a taste test. Adjust as needed and add seasoning if you want. Pot up, label and refrigerate immediately.
Apart from making the sexiest potato salad dressing in the world, this is wonderful with chicken, fish, green salad and as a dipping sauce.
Enjoy 😀
Stay well friends, and I’ll see you soon ❤
Debra Manskey 
Mar 13, 2017 @ 04:50:06
I missed mayonnaise for potato salad etc. incredibly when I decided to become vegan. I didn’t think that I would ever be able to have anything in the ball park, let alone be almost on par with, mayonnaise ever again. I was wrong. Here’s a brilliant recipe that gives a truly stellar result for when the hens aren’t laying or whenever you want to make truly delicious potato salad and can’t be bothered mucking around with eggs. Because it doesn’t use eggs the oil can be delivered into the mix more quickly and it is truly delicious. It’s made in the same way as egg mayo (drizzling oil into an initial blend) but unlike all of those eggs, you just need some simple ingredients that aren’t fussy and don’t split and that turn into magic at the end. I would be most interested to see if you give this a try and let me know what you think. It’s lovely and I am fussy about my mayo so no ‘tofu’ mayo for me!
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2016/03/easy-vegan-mayo-aquafaba-recipe-vegan-experience.html
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Mar 13, 2017 @ 08:12:14
Interesting idea! I normally cook my chickpeas from dry in the slow cooker, so I imagine I could use some the water from that process. I’m not sure how the flavour will stack up against my old girls’ eggs but it’ll be a great experiment – thanks for sharing 😀
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Mar 14, 2017 @ 03:50:24
I find it hard to taste the difference to be honest. The best bit is because you are using garlic in the process it’s automatically aioli. Without the eggs you don’t have a problem of the end result splitting and you can all all kinds of things to the end result. I did an experiment with the mayo to see how long it would actually last. As you don’t have eggs in the product it lasts incredibly well. I made a few batches at Christmas time that were used in potato salad etc. and some of the mayo was still delicious 2 months later. I guess the oil protects it. Home cooked chickpeas make excellent aquafaba (the liquid the chickpeas are cooked in). Have you heard about making meringues and pavlova’s out of aquafaba rather than egg whites? It’s a thing! Vegans can now have meringues, pavlovas and macarons all made with reduced chickpea and other bean cooking liquid. When that experiment paid off, the amount of tinned chickpeas that were being purchased increased exponentially and suddenly growing chickpeas was a good way to make a living. Whether people are vegans or not, it’s always good to know alternate ways to make things that don’t rely on eggs etc. (especially when they taste great) for if you run out or your hens are off the lay and you absolutely positively NEED some mayo for something. The end result is always going to be better than shop bought in my opinion.
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Mar 14, 2017 @ 17:28:04
Oh yay! That’s going to be dip from now on. Thanks for sharing the recipe 🙂
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Mar 20, 2017 @ 21:43:07
Now I can make aioli for the whole family, including the vegans.
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