A dip in heaven
Aioli - king of the dips
Aioli is a dip with a distinctive flavour, loved by millions of people around the Mediterranean.
Basically, aioli is a dip formed from garlic and olive oil. It is an emulsion of tiny
droplets of oil and various water soluble compounds. Egg is a commonly used emulsifier.
Variations
There are numerous variations throughout the Mediterranean, such as the addition of mustard or horseradish.
In Spain, spelt as allioli, it is often served as a starter with crusty bread, whilst a lot restaurants serve it before the starter as a tapas. In France, aioli is traditionally served with seafood, fish soup, and croutons. In Malta, arjoli or ajjoli is commonly made with the addition of either crushed galletti (biscuit) or tomato.
In some places it is eaten with hot chips. In the Valleys of Italy it is served with potatoes or battered vegetables. In a number of places, it is served hot squid rings.
Traditional
To make aioli in the traditional way takes times and patience, carefully drizzling olive oil into a food processor and mixing with raw egg. However, one of the tastiest versions that I’ve tried, comes with a much simpler recipe – with the added benefit of removing the health issue of using raw egg.
We first came across this recipe in the tiny café of ‘Las Olas’, overlooking the sea in Calpe, Alicante, Spain. After enthusing it’s qualities we decided to try to replicate it. Fortunately we managed to, and the owner verified it later.
Simple Aioli
3 large cloves garlic
4 tablespoons of Helleman’s Mayonnaise
1 dessertpoon lemon juice
Pinch ground black pepper
Optional, ½ teaspoon mustard (of choice)
Method
Crush garlic cloves, mix with other ingredients, let stand for 30 minutes. Beautiful. Living in Spain we tend to spread it on crusty bread, but we use it whenever we feel.
Everyone who has tasted it, loves it.
Give it a try.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
For your next $0.99 Kindle book, why not try:
