Homemade Aioli

What's your favorite ingredient at the moment? Mine: eggs. It's just so versatile! Yesterday, I had a boiled egg for breakfast, made macarons from egg whites, a lovely buttercream with egg yolks, and then I whipped up a batch of homemade aioli. All very different foods, but all based on eggs. And all absolutely fabulous!

I've never been one to eat a lot of mayo, so I don't really see the point of making my own. However, we had our annual crawfish party last night, and it occurred to me about an hour before the guests were due to arrive that an aioli - that is, a garlicky mayo, popular in France and Spain (where it's called allioli) - would go down very well. I had never made one before, so I googled a few recipes, plucked a little here, a little there, and got started.

Many say that you have to use egg yolks at room temperature - well, I didn't have time, and it turned out fine anyway. I used half olive oil, half neutral rapeseed oil, since I think that all olive oil can be a little over-powering. I used my Kitchen-Aid, but I'm sure a handheld mixer, a blender or even a food processor would work equally well. Or hey, a good old whisk, if you're so inclined!

(...and Swedish eggs don't have salmonella, so I'm not concerned about eating raw yolks. If you are, this recipe is not for you.)

Homemade Aioli
(printable recipe)

2 egg yolks
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp white wine vinegar (I used white balsamic)
pinch of salt
125 ml rapeseed oil
125 ml olive oil

Mince the garlic. Mix with the egg yolks, lemon, vinegar and salt in a bowl. Start whisking, and while you wisk, add the oils, teaspoon by teaspoon. It will thicken and swell, until you have a lovely fluffy cream.

Keeps for about a week in the fridge.

Recipe in Swedish:
Hemgjord Aioli