Roasted Garlic Aioli

Not to sound snooty patooty or anything, but I get pretty annoyed at some of the things that are called aioli these days.  Perhaps because of my teacher mom, or perhaps just because I’m just a pain in the neck, I want things to be named correctly.  If they’re not, I get cranky.

It seems that, hereabouts, if it's a mayonnaise-like concoction with vegetables or herbs mixed in, it gets called an aioli, and that's just not right.  The very name “aioli” is a conjunction of the Provençal words for garlic and oil.  If a sauce contains all of the other ingredients an aioli does, but doesn’t contain garlic or doesn’t contain oil, it’s not an aioli. It’s that simple.

Aioli is a garlic based emulsion, often containing the same ingredients as mayonnaise but always containing garlic. It originated in southern Europe and can be found in the cuisines of Provence, Catalonia, the Occitan Valleys of Italy, and Malta. 

Aioli can be served with almost anything that tastes well with garlic.  Traditionally, it's served with seafood, potatoes, or boiled vegetables.  In some areas it’s combined with tomatoes. 

At our house, it’s used wherever we can find an excuse to include it in the recipe.

I make my aioli with roasted garlic because I prefer its milder flavor to the sharp bite of raw garlic. 

When I'm planning to include it in a sauce, my garlic roasting technique is very basic:

I slice the top off of a bulb of garlic so that some of each clove is exposed.  I place the garlic in the center of a square of foil and drizzle it with olive oil.  I add a sprinkle of salt.

I close the foil up like a hobo pack and place it in a 350ºF oven to bake. .

Baking times can vary depending upon your oven and upon the age and dryness of the garlic.  It usually takes about 35 minutes in my oven.  When it’s done, it looks like this:

For food safety’s sake, it’s important to allow your garlic to cool completely before using it to make aioli. 

To make Roasted Garlic Aioli, you’ll need:

• 1 head of roasted garlic
• 2 egg yolks (As you can see, one of mine broke.  Don’t worry if yours do too. You’re going to whiz them up in the blender anyway.)
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• Approximately 1 cup extra virgin olive oil.

Squeeze the roasted garlic from the garlic head into the carafe of your blender.  Add the egg yolks, dry mustard, salt, and lemon juice.  Put the lid on, but leave the removable cap off so you can add the olive oil into the sauce while the blender is running.

With the blender running at medium/low speed, gradually stream in your olive oil until the aioli reaches the consistency you prefer.  We like ours pretty thick.

Transfer the aioli to a jar and store it in the refrigerator. It’s best to make this in fairly small quantities because aioli doesn’t keep indefinitely.  It should be used up within a few days.
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