Aïoli

Build the Meal Around Aïoli

• Boiled vegetables
• Salt cod
• Grilled fish

How to Cook Aïoli

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1. Pound the garlic with the salt in a mortar until it is a completely smooth cream with no fragments left.

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2. Work in the egg yolks with the pestle until the mixture is thick and glossy.

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3. Add the oil drop by drop at first, stirring constantly in one direction. This stage cannot be rushed.

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4. Once the emulsion has visibly taken and thickened, add the oil in a very thin stream, still stirring.

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5. When all the oil is in, the aïoli should be stiff enough to stand a spoon up in.

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6. Loosen with the lemon juice and the warm water.

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7. Taste for salt and serve at room temperature with vegetables and eggs.

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Related guide: Rescuing a split sauce.

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Notes From the Method

Everything at room temperature, or it splits.

A mild olive oil — a peppery one turns bitter when pounded.

Drop by drop for the first minute. There is no shortcut.

If You're Missing Something

• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.

Storing and Reheating

Refrigerated for 3 days. It stiffens; loosen with warm water. Do not freeze.

The Numbers per Serving

Per serving, an approximate calculation from the ingredient list. Treat it as a rough guide: an ingredient listed without an amount is not counted, so the figures run low. How the figures are worked out.