“What’s that?” She asked, nose scrunched and pointing to the menu. “Ayeoooollleeeeeooo?”
He leaned over his own menu, squinting his eyes to see the fine, swirling text to the left of where her finger was pointing. “Oh, it’s pronounced ay-oh-lee. It’s essentially French mayonnaise.”
“Huh, ok.” She paused for a second, a faint question mark lingering over her furrowed brow. “So then why don’t they just call it mayonnaise?”
He sighed and put down his menu, smiling patiently. “Well, mayonnaise is historically one of the French master sauces, but for us here in the states, it generally only contains a few basic ingredients, like vegetable oil, egg, water, and vinegar. Aioli is a little different. It has a few additional flavorants, garlic and lemon juice. In fact, the name aioli comes from the Provençal word alh, meaning garlic, and òli, meaning oil. Sometimes it’s made with olive oil instead of vegetable oil.”
“Well, then they should just call it garlic mayonnaise.”
He sighed and picked up his menu again, patience fading. “Yes, dear.”
She continued, ignoring the brush off. “I mean, it says here that it’s on a plate of veggies, spread on crostinis, alongside the fish of the day, and on every one of their sandwiches. Sure sounds like mayonnaise to me. I don’t understand why the French always have to be so difficult.”
A harried-looking server appeared at the table, pen and order pad at the ready. Her words came out in a rush: “Howisyourdaygoing? MayItakeyourorderplease?” She tossed an expecting gaze at the lady of the table, who was still ruminating over her lunch options.
“Sure, I’ll take the chicken and arugula wrap, but instead of the aiiiooollleeeoo can I get mayonnaise?”
The server continued her gaze, save for a barely perceptible shift of the eyebrows. Her speech slowed to a crawl, dusted with a subtle undertone that caused the man of the table to smirk behind his menu. “Um, I suppose that would be possible,” she drawled. “But I will have to check with the chef.”
The server took the rest of the order, him ordering a pair of seared pork belly sliders with a Zinfandel barbecue sauce, and rushed away to the kitchen, leaving the man and woman alone at table. She gazed out the window and quietly murmured to herself, “eeeeooollleeeooooo.”
Learning how to make aioli is easy; it’s just like making mayonnaise, with a few minor adjustments. Once you’ve got this skill down, you’ll be surprised how easily you can spruce up a simple sandwich, salad, or fish dish.
How to Make Aioli
A simple, basic aioli recipe
Yield: about 2 cups
Ingredients:
- 2/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup olive oil (use the good stuff here, you’ll appreciate it in the long run)
- 1 egg yolk, from a large egg
- 1 teaspoon water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
- 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
- 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
Recipe method:
- Combine vegetable oil and olive oil in a measuring cup with an easily pourable spout.
- Combine the egg yolk, water, salt, pepper, lemon juice, lemon zest and garlic in a large bowl. Whisk until they are well combined and let sit for 5 minutes. Whisk again for another minute.
- While whisking the egg and flavorants, add a few drops of oil to get the emulsion setup. Add a few more drops, and then a few more, all the while keep beating. Once you’ve got a good emulsion going, slowly drizzle in the remaining oil while whisking constantly. The finished product should be thick enough to cling to your tasting spoon.
- Homemade mayonnaise keeps well in an airtight container in the fridge. Store for up to a week.
If you like learning how to make aioli, check out these other recipes:
- Best pecan chicken salad recipe ever!
- Is Aioli the Greatest Sauce Recipe Ever?
- Very well, then
- Two Vegan Mayonnaise Recipes
- Salmon Burgers With Chipotle Aioli and Pineapple-Avocado Salsa
Comments { Add a Comment }
That’s really funny….I feel like I was at the next table, people watching.
I don’t make aioli at home. This recipe will be a great jumping off point for me.
I learned aioli without a recipe. Just toss the egg, garlic, and so on in a bowl and slowly whisk in enough oil till done. Boom. Overthinking is what breaks aioli.
Yum! Add a touch of fresh rosemary and I’m in love!
Garlic makes everything better, doesn’t it? And I also vote for the addition of rosemary.
Oooh. If it’s French, it’s gotta be good right?
Real Catalan aioli is made with just garlic, salt and olive oil. No egg. There are enough emulsifiers in all alliums (onions, garlic, etc) to bind the “garlic mayo” — if you make it slowly and constantly mash and stir with a mortar and pestle. It is a transformative sauce if you have the patience to make it this way.
OK, how was that for a total food geek nerd response? Sheesh…
Love the story! It reminds me of working at a restaurant where people would ask me to leave off the goat cheese crostini that came with the salad. I would patiently explain it’s just a slice of bread with goat cheese, but I think they didn’t believe me and insisted they didn’t want it.
(And Hank, I love the food nerd response!)
Haha I love this! I 3rd the motion of rosemary (my favorite herb)