House Aioli

you can do it! yes, you!

Aioli is one of those mystical and magical condiments.

Who the hell doesn’t like aioli? If I had a dollar for every time I was out to a meal and I heard, “oooooooOooooo this ____ "*insert fries, burger, etc* comes with aioli… ” then I would have…well… a lot of dollars!

It’s so delicious and sounds so luxe.

But guess what. It’s not so luxe that you can’t make it at home yourself :)

What is aioli, really?

Aioli is just egg, garlic, oil, salt, and pepper. And there’s a fine line between aioli and mayo (and I love both!) Essentially, aioli is made from garlic and olive oil while mayo is made from egg yolks and a neutral oil (think canola oil). When made fresh, both have a creamy texture and yellowish color - but they have pretty distinctive flavors. Both delish, although aioli is usually hailed as the cool kid on the block. As I quote often, Alison Roman says that “aioli is Brooklyn for mayo.”

But, as with most recipes that are this delicious but this simple, it’s all in the technique baby.

And I gotta say, there is a noticeable delicious factor upgrade in homemade aioli. The ingredients are so simple, and I bet you have everything in your kitchen already, However, if I’m being honest, this recipe took me forever to crack just with the technique alone.

What a journey I went on.

I tried Julia’s recipe, Alison’s recipe, Melissa’s recipe. Each time, it came out too runny, too garlicky, too….just not aioli. I used more olive oil, more neutral oil, whisking by hand, using a blender, using whole eggs, just egg yolks. I can’t tell you how many sad batches of aioli I went through. Each time, a dark cloud appearing over my head as I moped around the kitchen Charlie Brown style.

But nevertheless, she persisted. I was a woman on a mission.

Finally, I CRACKED THE MOTHERF*CKING RECIPE!

And let me tell you, I really can’t think of a moment as of late that I was THIS elated. literally squealed. I jumped up and down. I slapped my face to make sure I wasn’t dreaming it all.

Now that I’ve made you go on that roller coaster of emotions with me, I’ll finally share the recipe and the technique. I’m calling it House Aioli because it’s very specifically the recipe that I developed in my house and suits all my tastes and kinks. I’ll actually go ahead and say that it’s an aioli/mayo hybrid. Perfectly garlicky, a little lemony, and supremely creamy. Now, everyone makes aioli differently - but this is how I like it, and this is my newsletter, so here you go!

I use a blender rather than mixing my hand in order to keep the mixing speed consistent, and so I don’t have to break a sweat making a freaking condiment.

A couple v. important notes for you so you can make this perfectly the FIRST time:

1. Grate the garlic and let it sit in the blender with the salt and the lemon juice for at least 10 mins. This is going to take the *bite* out of the garlic.

2. Make sure your eggs are room temp! I know..annoying! I usually scoff at this kind of direction, but I’m telling you - this is a v important step! If you’re in a rush, put the eggs in a bowl with warm water to speed things up.

3. Take * your * time* when you’re pouring the oil mix into the blender. Do a super duper slow pour and take breaks for a second or two as you wait for the oil to incorporate. If you incorporate too much oil too quickly, it will break the aioli and you will have a runny mess.

As always, trust your taste buds! If you like it a little more lemony or salty, go ahead and add more! I believe in you!

I like to make a batch and put in my fridge to eat with probably an embarrassingly number of things. Here’s some ideas to start - Chicken salad sandwiches, dip for your spring veggies (asparagus is in season and hits particularly nicely rn), potatoes - you name it, I bet this will taste amazing with it. Hey, eat it straight out of the jar - I won’t judge you!

House aioli

Makes about 1 cup

Ingredients

2 egg yolks, at room temp (this is very important!)

1 clove garlic, grated

A couple pinches of salt

½ cup neutral oil (canola, vegetable, sunflower)

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

½ lemon, juiced

Let’s do it!

1. Put garlic, salt, and lemon juice in blender and let sit for 10 mins. This will take the bitterness out of the garlic.

2. Add egg yolks to the blender - make sure they are at room temperature!

3. Put the blender on the lowest speed and add oil mixture in a super slow stream, ½ tablespoon at a time. Take breaks! Especially in the beginning, you want to see the oil incorporate before you add more.

4. Say a prayer.

5. About halfway through your oil mix, you’ll start to see it come together. Hold your breath.

6. Keep up the slow and steady stream (it’s still okay to take breaks here if you need!) Patience, my friend.

7. It should be a nice thick consistency at the end of the olive pour.

8. Voila! Pat yourself on the back and enjoy. You earned it.

9. Store in a mason jar and lick the blender.

10. Refrigerate for up to 10 days. Good luck having it last that long before you eat it all :)

a good way to eat more veggies is so smother it in aioli

Happy cooking.

Love ya mucho,

Tessa