Aioli

Aioli is a thick mayonnaise-like sauce from southern France with garlic, eggs, and oil.  The Spanish call this alioli.  It might also be called alioli, allioli, or ajoaceite, but not matter what you call it, garlic bathed in olive oil is never a bad thing.  In Catalonia, traditional alioli is made without eggs, but you’ll find it creamier, milder, and easier to make if you leave the eggs in.  This is the easiest recipe, by way of the blender, but some use a food processor to combine, in which case you have to add the oil in a thin steady stream to avoid breaking the sauce.  if it should break, add a bit of water, a teaspoon at a time, if necessary, stirring to recombine.

This recipe makes 1 quart and keeps for about 3 days in the fridge, so if you need less, you might half or quarter the recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

• 5 garlic cloves
• 8 eggs
• 5 c. olive oil
• dash salt

INSTRUCTIONS:

Peel and cut the garlic cloves in half.   Put the eggs, salt and the garlic in a blender and process until smooth, adding the olive oil little by little until you have a thick mayonnaise-like texture.  Some add a dash of freshly squeeze lemon juice, 1 T. Dijon, 1 t. cider vinegar, a dash or hot sauce and/or freshly ground pepper to the mix, but we find it unnecessary and not additive.