French · Starter · Medium
Aioli
The garlic mayonnaise of Provence, made by hand with olive oil and a mountain of garlic. Potent and glorious.
The whole recipe in 60 seconds
Aioli, in 5 ideas
- Room temperature yolks emulsify far more reliably than cold ones.
- The first few drops of oil are the danger zone; add them slower than feels necessary.
- If it breaks, start a fresh yolk in a clean bowl and whisk the broken aioli in drop by drop.
- True Provençal aioli uses only garlic and olive oil, no egg; the egg version is more foolproof.
- Serve with boiled vegetables, shrimp, or as the ultimate sandwich spread.
What you need
Ingredients
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 egg yolks, at room temperature
- 1 cup olive oil (half mild, half extra virgin)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
How to make it
Directions
- Pound the garlic and salt to a smooth paste with a mortar and pestle (or mince very fine).
- Whisk the garlic paste with the yolks and mustard in a bowl.
- Add the oil literally drop by drop at first, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens.
- Once it starts to emulsify, pour the oil in a thin steady stream while whisking.
- Whisk in the lemon juice. If it gets too thick, loosen with a teaspoon of warm water.
Money saver. A mortar and pestle gives the smoothest garlic paste, but the flat of a chef's knife with coarse salt works in a pinch.