How to Make Basic Aioli

By eHow Food & Drink Editor

Rate: (43 Ratings)

Aioli is a zesty garlic mayonnaise that's used as a sauce, most often for seafood and shellfish, although it's also great on green beans and potatoes. It's made by slowly whisking oil into egg yolks and garlic, but health concerns about the safety of raw egg yolks have many chefs starting with commercial mayonnaise, which is made from pasteurized egg yolks. This eHow explains both ways, and will make just over a cup of aioli.

Flag Article

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

1 tsp white vinegar
3 egg yolks
1 tbsp Dijon mustards
1/4 tsp white pepper
3-5 garlic cloves
3/4 cup olive (not virgin) oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 lemons

Step1

Puree, mash or mince the garlic as finely as possible and add it to the olive oil. If you have a small food processor or blender, the two can be blended together.

Step2

Place the egg yolks and mustard in a medium mixing bowl and whisk together for two minutes.

Step3

While steadily whisking the yolks, begin to drizzle in the oil in a very thin, steady, slow stream.

Step4

The yolks and oil will begin to come together. When about half the oil is in, and the mixture is beginning to resemble mayonnaise, add the vinegar and salt and pepper.

Step5

Whisk together, then continue to drizzle in the oil while whisking. Stop before you've used all the oil.

Step6

Squeeze in a little lemon juice, stir it in well, then taste. If it needs more salt, lemon juice, pepper or garlic oil, add it now and whisk it in until it tastes right. It should be thick and creamy, not overly garlicky, with none of the other flavors too strong.

Tips & Warnings

If you'd rather not use raw egg yolks, no problem. Only make half a cup of the garlic olive oil and whisk it into a cup of prepared mayonnaise. Then whisk in some extra lemon juice, a little warm water to thin it out, and correct the seasonings.
You can also make aioli in the food processor. Process the yolks and mustard and, while leaving the machine on, let the oil drip slowly through the feed tube. With some processor models, you can leave the white insert inside the tube; there's a hole at the bottom that lets the oil dribble through.
Only use olive oil for aioli, not canola or safflower oil (as you might for another mayonnaise).
Basic aioli can be seasoned with virtually any chopped herbs, hot pepper sauces, or spices. For a sauce resembling tartar sauce, whisk in some pickle relish.
Use aioli as a sauce for fish, shellfish, or vegetables, or as a dip for crudites (raw or blanched vegetables). Try a few tablespoons of aioli mixed with hot roasted potato chunks and steamed green beans.
A good trick with the garlic is to pound it in a mortar (if you have one) with a pinch of salt. If you don't have a mortar, sprinkle the salt over minced garlic and "smear" the garlic with the flat of a knife. This makes a creamy garlic puree. (If you do this, use less salt in the aioli.)
If you're making the scratch version with raw egg yolks and it separates while you're whisking it together, don't worry. Don't throw it out. Just put another yolk or two and a teaspoon of mustard in another bowl, and drizzle in the separated stuff while whisking just as you would if it were plain oil.

Comments

Anonymous said

Flag This Comment

on 2/20/2006 This works with any rice in any covered sauce pan up to about six quarts or so. It's especially amazing to those who feel they can't succeed with rice.
1. Place rice in pan. You can fill the pan about 1/3rd full at most. Hint: Taller, skinnier pans work well for accuracy of measurement.
2. With the pan on a solid level surface, stick your index finger straight down into the middle of the pan to the bottom. The rice will come up to some point on your finger. Mark that spot with your thumb and keep it marked as you start step #3.
3. Pull your finger straight out of the rice and put the tip of your finger on the top surface of the dry rice to the side of your finger hole. Hold it right there and don't move it.
4. Run cold water into the pan until the water reaches the spot where your thumb is marking your index finger.
5. Put pan on stove and bring to boil. Stir once.
6. Cover and reduce heat to a slow simmer.

If you've cooked this kind of rice before, then you know how long to cook it. If not, you'll need to stay close the first time and record how long it takes. Basically, the rice is done when all the water is absorbed.
As a guideline, most white rice, such as Uncle Ben's par boiled rice, will take from 10-15 minutes.
Brown Rice, whether long, medium, or short grain, Basmati or other aromatic variety, as long as it's whole grain will all work the same. They will cook longer before absorbing all the water, about 25-30 minutes.
That's it. No stirring or tending. When you get used to it, you just know it's done when it smells right.

Heavy bottomed pans work best! Don't over cook. But if you do, and the rice sticks, just re-cover it and let it rest off the heat for a few minutes and try again.
Instant Rice is a whole different ball game so I don't even recommend it for this exercise.
Wild Rice isn't rice. By itself, it takes about an hour or more. If you think Uncle Ben's "Wild Rice Blend" is Wild Rice, it's not. It's mostly par cooked white rice with about 5-10% par cooked wild rice and seasonings blended in, giving it a predictable cook time of about 12-15 minutes.