Is Aioli the Greatest Sauce Recipe Ever?

Written By admind Wednesday, June 24, 2009 Add Comment Edit

As I watched Iron Chef Michael Symon whisk together a simple aioli during his pork demo I attended in Aspen, I was thinking, what savory ingredient (besides cheese) isn't great with aioli?

I couldn’t come up with anything. Whether you're talking about meats, vegetables, starches, or breads – everything tastes great with aioli.

I've done a few versions of aioli on the site before, but never a minimalist, special equipment-free recipe like this. Of course, a true aioli is made with a mortar and pestle, but not everyone has one, and sure you can use a blender, but is there anything more annoying to clean (besides a garlic press as the Iron Chef pointed out during his demo)?

Do yourself a huge favor and take 10 minutes this week to make a little ramekin of this aioli. Then, start spreading and dipping your way up and down the food pyramid. You will discover you can turn a turkey sandwich into a [expletive deleted] great turkey sandwich, a roasted potato becomes the highlight of your day, and a carrot stick is transformed into an incredibly effective endorphin delivery system.

By the way, I'll warn you in advance that I won't spend time answering comments and questions about using raw egg yolks. I've covering that in several other posts, including my homemade mayo video recipe. If you are concerned, google the subject and you'll get millions of pages on the subject.

Rachael Ray has a better chance of winning a James Beard Chef of the Year award than you have getting sick from making this recipe. Enjoy!