Roasted Garlic Aioli

 

 

Roasted Garlic Aioli.  You may be asking yourself at this moment, just what is aioli.  From where I am sitting I would say it is a garlic mayonnaise, and I hear Frenchmen everywhere cringing as I utter those words! 

Wars have been started over less I am sure.  

In the south of France which is where this delicious condiment got started, it is essentially garlic pounded together with olive oil by using a mortar and pestle.  There are no eggs or any other ingredient added.

 

 Like most things however, it has morphed into a type of a garlic mayonnaise, with the addition of eggs, and mustard.  A really tasty garlic mayonnaise. 

A garlic mayonnaise that is really delicious served as a condiment or dip with all sorts of things. In fact you can buy ready-made aioli in most of the shops where it will be found next to the mayonnaise! 

I am not overly fond of raw garlic.  (Did I hear all of you garlic lovers just take a sharp breath?)  I find the flavour a bit harsh, especially in large amounts such as the amounts needed to make aioli. 

 

Roasting garlic however, really mellows out and sweetens it.  I love roasted garlic.  I would never eat a whole clove of garlic raw, but I have been known to eat one roasted!

Its lovely and sweet.  Beautiful spread onto bread and in sauces.  And I have to say it is gorgeous in aioli!  Seriously delicious! 

  

The recipe I am sharing with you today is an adaptation from one I found in the Donna Hay cookbook entitled, The New Classics.  I really love Donna Hay recipes.  They are fresh and innovative and usually less than fiddly.

She is pretty much the Martha Stewart of "Down Under" and the Queen of presentation when it comes to food in my opinion.  I absolutely love what she does.

 

Her original recipe made two cups of aioli, and I knew I would never in a million years be able to reasonably use two whole cups of the stuff, no matter how delicious it was.

I cut the recipe in half to make only one cup, which suits me just fine.  That I might be able to handle and use up within a week, but I am not sure about that.  I will try anyways! 

 

Normally when I roast garlic, I cut the top off, drizzle the inside with some olive oil, sprinkle it with salt and pepper and then wrap it up in little foil pouches, ready to throw into a hot oven to roast.

She roasts her completely differently and I have to say I really love how she does it. The garlic gets halved horizontally, drizzled with oil and then roasted cut side down on a baking paper lined baking sheet.

 

It roasts in half the length of time and you get more scrummy toasty bits.  Oh, I do so love scrummy toasty bits, especially in garlic.  Almost like candy.

The roasted garlic then gets squeezed out of the skins into a bowl and mashed with a fork, ready to fork into the mayonnaise-like sauce that you create.

 

You will need a food processor, blender or immersion blender to make the mayo mixture. I use my immersion blender.  Its really easy to use.  I would not be without one.  In fact I don't even bother to keep a regular blender anymore.

You just pop the egg, lemon juice and some Dijon into the bowl of the blender/food processor, or cup for the immersion blender and blitz everything together to combine.  Then you start drizzling in the oil while continuing to blend.

 

In next to no time at all you have a beautiful emulsification, a thick, creamy glossy sauce. Mayonnaise for all intents and purposes, except made using lemon juice instead of vinegar.

If you are going to feed this to small children or the elderly, do make sure to use a pasteurized egg as the egg in this isn't cooked, and they don't recommend serving raw egg to either of those groups of people.  

There is a complete tutorial and instructions on how to do exactly that here on The Instructables, or you can purchase them already pasteurized.

 

Once you have your mayonnaise/aioli made it is simple a matter of forking the roasted and mashed garlic through.  Easy peasy. You won't even break into a sweat!

You will find this to be incredibly delicious and quite versatile as well. You can use it as a dip, or to garnish salads and cooked meats.

 

Today I used it as a dip/salad condiment to serve with a lovely garden/dinner salad I had made for myself.  

Fresh salad leaves, a lovely mixture that I picked up at the farm shop behind my house, along with some spicy micro-greens that I got in town.  To that I added some poached chicken and a hard boiled egg, along with some steamed vegetables.

 

Asparagus for dipping, carrots, zucchini, fresh garden peas.  A beautiful combination and all going so very well with that delicious aioli. 

I garnished the top with some alfalfa sprouts and added a radish garnish as well. Those radish garnishes are very easy to make, and are so pretty when done.

 

Just use the tip of a sharp knife and make small cuts in towards the center of the radish, all around the circumference of the radish, creating  a sort of a zigzag pattern.   You only want to go as far as the center.

Once you have done that all the way around, it is very easy to twist the two halves apart and voila! You have a beautiful garnish for all of your cold and salad plates!

This was really delicious.  I even steamed a cauliflower floret to enjoy along with it all.  My favorite bits?  Why those beautiful new potatoes.   So tasty dipped into that gorgeous aioli! 

I am still thinking about them . . .  sigh . . .  I am such a glutton.

It was all seriously delicious.  I thought this to be a fairly healthy and yet substantial dinner.  Well, maybe the aioli wasn't the healthiest bit, but the rest was absolutely healthy!

I felt absolutely justified in having a dish or Orange Pineapple ice cream for dessert!  Oh boy it was some good!

And now you know why I look the way I do! 

Its a good thing I don't have to meet anyone in person for the next day or so.  I quite stink of garlic I am sure . . .  and orange pineapple.  What a glorious combination!

Roasted Garlic Aioli

Yield: Makes 1 cup

Author: Marie Rayner

Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 35 Min

This is a great condiment to have in the refrigerator in the summer month. Its delicious, easy to make and goes so well with cooked meats and vegetables. It also makes a fabulous dip.

Ingredients

• 2 heads of garlic, unpeeled and halved through the middle
• 1 TBS olive oil
• 1 large free range egg
• 1 
• 1 TBS fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 TBS Dijon mustard
• 3/4 cup (180ml) light olive oil
• fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350*C|F/180*C/gas mark 4.  Line a small baking tray with some baking parchment.
2. Place the garlic, cut side up, on the baking tray.  Drizzle with the oil and then flip over, cut side down.
3. Roast in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes.  
4. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before squeezing the individual cloves from the skins into a bowl.  Mash completely with a fork.
5. Place the egg, lemon juice, and mustard into a food processor or blender and blitz to combine.  With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the oil in a thin and steady stream. You should end up with a thick and creamy mayonnaise type of mixture.
6. Fork through the mashed garlic, and season to taste with salt and black pepper.
7. Store covered in the refrigerator.  Use within one week.

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I just love this little sauce dish.  I got it at the farmers market behind my house.  I was in there getting some fresh vegetables when, like a crow, my eyes happened onto it. (They also keep giftware.)  It looked just like a tiny enamel colander.

But its not enamel. Its ceramic and I think quite cute!  I had to buy it. I know I will be using it a lot! I quite love LOVE it.

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