The last day of Culinary Boot Camp is particularly special because our students get a little more autonomy in the kitchen. This day is less about staying on the same train together for the full eight-hour day and more about giving the students tools and letting them loose to create some very tasty bites (with guidance, of course).
Each team of four makes their own canapé (a small passable appetizer, often decorative in nature). One of the teams was tasked with making a delicious Calabrian chili aioli to serve alongside their bite. Upon doing my rounds in our kitchen, I noticed that disaster had struck and the aioli this team was creating was turning into an oily mess.
Roll up your sleeves and flex those forearms folks, because we are making homemade mayonnaise and aioli. First of all, let’s talk about the similarities and differences between aioli and mayonnaise. They are very similar sauces. Traditionally, aioli is a simple emulsion of garlic and oil into a creamy sauce. However, most places serving and making aioli are making something more akin to mayonnaise which is an emulsion of egg yolk, oil, an acid of sorts like lemon juice or vinegar, and something to give it flavor - in many cases, this is garlic.
A homemade mayo is one of my very favorite party tricks because it does two things:
- It shows my friends how much I care for them, and
- It demonstrates to them how strong I am.
You can certainly use a stick blender or a food processor to make your aioli but as a chef, I have this annoying chip on my shoulder that forces me to do it the hard way - which is how we have our students do it for day 5 of Culinary Boot Camp. Our aioli starts with an egg yolk, about two teaspoons of lemon juice, minced garlic, and a pinch of salt and pepper. After whisking that mixture, you can start slowly drizzling in about 1 cup of olive oil while vigorously whisking.
My beautiful students did not heed those adverbs and alas, our emulsion was flooded with a pool of olive oil. So how do we fix this oily mess without wasting all these ingredients? We re-emulsify! We can take a clean bowl, start whisking up one egg yolk and once again slowly drizzle in our oil mixture while vigorously whisking.
Some science: our furious whisking in this practice helps our egg yolk (emulsifier) to stabilize our hydrophilic lemon juice to our hydrophobic olive oil.
Our Calabrian chili aioli was saved and the canapé party was a success. While those students may have had sore arms and a new found hatred of me for telling them to whisk faster and pour slower, I know they left with a new skill under their belt. The following week I watched over our aioli team, like mama bear looking after her cubs.
Mayonnaise is a fabulous canvas for different flavor profiles and experiments. Recently as a home project, I made a basil oil aioli and transformed that into an absolutely stunning chicken salad to enjoy throughout the week. Here's a standard recipe that you can follow and adapt however you like.
Aioli
Yield: 1 cup
Active time: 5 minutes
Start to finish: 5 minutes
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
3/4 cup neutral oil
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1. Whisk together the yolk, mustard, garlic and vinegar in a bowl.
2. Slowly add the oils in a thin steady stream while whisking vigorously until the sauce is emulsified and thick.
3. Season with salt and pepper to taste. This sauce can alternatively be prepared in a food processor or a Vita-Mix Blender.
Note: Add olives, roasted garlic, lemon zest, tarragon, blue cheese, oven-roasted tomatoes and/or capers to create multiple variations.
Join us for a class where aioli is on the menu. More often than not we will use a machine to help us get the product we want but if you are brave enough for the challenge, do as DEVO instructed and whip it good!
Here are some upcoming classes to note:
- Fish Butchery and Cookery on Monday, July 28 at 6pm featuring Sautéed Skin-On Fish Fillets with Roasted Asparagus and Lemon-Dill Aioli
- Paella Party on Friday, August 8 at 6pm featuring Serrano Ham Wrapped Grilled Asparagus with Aioli
- Tomato Takeover on Saturday, August 23 at 11:30am featuring Fried Green Tomatoes with Tarragon Aioli.
And of course, you'll become an absolute aioli aficionado in Culinary Boot Camp!
