Aïoli
Provençal garlic mayonnaise, pounded in a mortar
Garlic mayonnaise from Provence, and traditionally made in a mortar rather than a bowl — pounding the garlic to a paste with salt gives a smoothness no chopping achieves.
The olive oil should be good but not aggressively peppery; a hard-whisked bitter oil makes a bitter aioli.
Ingredients
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
- 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice, plus more to taste
- 3/4 cup mild olive oil
- 1/4 cup neutral oil
- Freshly ground white pepper
Instructions
- Pound the garlic with the salt in a mortar until you have a completely smooth paste, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Work in the egg yolks and lemon juice with the pestle, or transfer to a bowl and whisk.
- Add the oils drop by drop at first, working constantly, until the emulsion takes. Then continue in a thin stream.
- Season with more lemon, salt and white pepper. It should taste sharply of garlic.
- Serve with poached salt cod, boiled vegetables or fish soup.
Notes
- Green shoots in old garlic are bitter — split each clove and remove them.
- See also Toum, the Lebanese garlic sauce, which uses no egg at all.