Aioli

Name: Aioli
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 15 min
Cuisine: France and Spain
Ingredients: 2 cloves garlic, large, germ removed if green; 2 g (⅓ tsp) fine sea salt; 1 egg yolk, at room temperature; 2 tsp lemon juice; 100 ml (⅓ cup + 1 tbsp) neutral oil; 100 ml (⅓ cup + 1 tbsp) mild extra-virgin olive oil

Garlic mayonnaise in the Provençal manner, pungent and golden

Makes: about 250 ml (1 cup)
Hands-on: 15 min
Total: 15 min
Level: Easy

The oldest aioli is just garlic, salt and olive oil pounded to a paste; this version adds an egg yolk, which makes it far more forgiving at home while keeping the full garlic punch. Serve it with fish, potatoes, grilled vegetables or anything fried.

Ingredients

2 clovesgarliclarge, germ removed if green
2 gfine sea salt (⅓ tsp)
1egg yolkat room temperature
2 tsplemon juice
100 mlneutral oil (⅓ cup + 1 tbsp)
100 mlmild extra-virgin olive oil (⅓ cup + 1 tbsp)

Diet: Vegetarian, Gluten-free, Dairy-free
Allergens: egg
Origin: France (Provence) and Spain (Catalonia)

Method

Crush the garlic with the salt using a mortar and pestle, or on a board with the flat of your knife, until it is a smooth, wet paste with no lumps. This takes 1–2 minutes.
Scrape the paste into a bowl and whisk in the egg yolk and lemon juice.
Whisk in the neutral oil drop by drop until the mixture thickens, then in a thin stream.
Whisk in the olive oil in a thin stream. The aioli should be thick, glossy and golden.
Taste and adjust with salt or lemon. Let it sit 10 minutes before serving; the garlic flavor blooms.

Why it works

Crushing garlic with salt ruptures its cells completely, releasing allicin, the compound behind garlic's sharp heat, and the salt acts as an abrasive that turns it to a fine paste. Starting with neutral oil builds a stable emulsion; adding the olive oil by hand afterward gives its fruitiness without the bitterness that high-speed blending causes.

Common mistakes

Leaving garlic in chunks: they taste raw and harsh. Mash to a true paste.
Making it in a blender with all olive oil: it turns bitter.

Variations

Saffron aioli: Steep a pinch of saffron in 1 tbsp hot water for 5 minutes and whisk in at the end; classic with fish soup.
Roasted garlic aioli: Use 6 cloves of Garlic Confit instead of raw garlic for a sweet, mellow version.

Make ahead and storage

Best the day it is made; keeps 2 days in the fridge, getting stronger.

Notes

Raw egg: use pasteurized yolks for the vulnerable. For the yolk-free original, pound the garlic and salt, then work in about 150 ml olive oil drop by drop with the pestle; it takes patience.