Aioli
Aioli is an emulsion, and emulsions do not forgive haste. Two conditions: everything at room temperature, and the oil in a thin stream. A cold yolk will never take warm oil, and oil poured in at once breaks the emulsion in a second. Once it comes together, though, it holds for days.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Rest
- 30 min
- Total
- 45 min
- Servings
- 8
- Level
- Medium
- Per serving
- 190 kcal
Ingredients
Makes: about 250 ml, 8 portions
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
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Step 1: Pound the garlic with salt
Work the garlic and salt to a smooth paste in a mortar. The salt is the abrasive — without it the garlic stays in pieces.
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Step 2: Add the yolk
Stir in the yolk, mustard and half the lemon juice until even. The mustard is insurance: it contains compounds that help hold an emulsion.
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Step 3: Add the oil drop by drop
The first 50 ml of sunflower oil go in literally drop by drop, whisking without stopping. This is where the emulsion forms, or does not.
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Step 4: Then in a thin stream
Once it thickens and pales noticeably, pour the rest in a thin stream. Add the olive oil last: too much makes aioli bitter.
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Step 5: Finish
Add the remaining lemon juice, which freshens it and loosens a sauce that has gone too thick. Chill 30 minutes before serving.
Tips & variations
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Tip
If it splits, do not throw it out. Whisk a fresh yolk in a clean bowl and add the split mixture to it a spoon at a time, as you would oil. It comes back.
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Tip
A lot of extra virgin olive oil turns aioli bitter: fast whisking breaks its molecules. Hence a neutral oil for the body and olive oil only for scent.
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Variation
Rouille is the Provençal version with saffron and chilli, served with fish soup. With a whole head of roasted garlic the sauce turns sweet and mild.
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Storage
Three days in the fridge — this is a homemade sauce with raw yolk, so no longer. Use pasteurised eggs for children or in pregnancy.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 8 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 190 kcal | 1,520 kcal |
| Protein | 1 g | 8 g |
| Fat | 20 g | 160 g |
| Carbohydrates | 1 g | 8 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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