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1
Peel: 2 or 3 small garlic cloves.
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2
Pound until smooth with a mortar and pestle, along with: A pinch of salt.
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3
Separate into a mixing bowl: 1 egg yolk.
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4
Add about half the garlic and: 1/2 teaspoon water.
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5
Mix well with a whisk.
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6
Into a cup with a pour spout, measure about: 1 cup olive oil.
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7
Slowly dribble the oil into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly.
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8
As the egg yolk absorbs the oil, the sauce will thicken, lighten in color, and become opaque.
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9
This will happen rather quickly.
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10
Then you can add the oil a little faster, whisking all the while.
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11
If the sauce is thicker than you like, thin it with a few drops of water.
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12
Taste and add more salt and garlic, as desired.
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13
When I serve a roast, I love to add some of the roasting juices to the finished aioli.
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14
A boiled crab with aioli is even more delicious when a little crab butter is added to the aioli.
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15
(Crab butter, or tomalley, is the soft yellow matter inside the shell of a cooked crab.)
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16
For an intense aioli, add lots of chopped capers and anchovy.
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17
made the same way as aioli, but without garlic, and finished with a touch of vinegar or lemon juicecan be varied in many different ways:
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18
Mustard or horseradish mayonnaise is wonderful for sandwiches.
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19
An herb mayonnaise with chopped herbs such as parsley, chives, tarragon, and chervil and a little lemon juice goes extremely well with fish and shellfish.
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20
To make tartar sauce, add chopped pickles, pickle juice, grated onion, capers, parsley, and a pinch of cayenne.
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21
To make a beautiful green mayonnaise, pound watercress or basil in the mortar and pestle and add to the mayonnaise.
