Combine the egg yolks, lemon juice, mustard, and salt in a food processor or blender. Turn the machine on and start by adding the oil very slowly, in a thin stream, and then gradually increasing the amount you add. When youve added all the pure oil and the mayonnaise starts to thicken, transfer the mayonnaise to a bowl and gently work in the extra virgin olive oil using a wooden spoon. As the mayonnaise gets very thick, add water as needed. Add more salt if needed.
VARIATIONS:
RED BELL PEPPER MAYONNAISE Yield: 1¾ cups 4 red bell peppers, charred, peeled, stemmed, seeded, and chopped fine 1 cup Basic Mayonnaise Salt and pepper to taste Combine the peppers with the Basic Mayonnaise and season to taste with salt and pepper.
MUSHROOM MAYONNAISE Yield: 2 cups 1 pound mushrooms of any variety 1 cup Basic Mayonnaise Salt and pepper to taste Clean the mushrooms and chop by hand or in a food processor until fairly fine. Be careful if youre using a food processor to avoid making a pure; about 10 short pulses should do it. Put the mushrooms in a small pot over medium heat. When theyve released their water, after 1 to 2 minutes, turn the heat up to high and boil, stirring now and then, until the mixture is dry, about 10 minutes. Let cool and fold into the Basic Mayonnaise. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
MOREL MAYONNAISE Yield: 1½ cups Regular mushroom mayonnaise is great but dried morels give this mayonnaise a distinctive smoky flavor.
ounce dried morels, soaked in ½ cup water for 30 minutes and moved around every 5 minutes 1 cup Basic Mayonnaise salt and pepper to taste Drain the morels into a bowl, squeezing any additional liquid out of them; note that you can save the liquid for sauces, but dont add it to the mayonnaise unless you want it to be thin. Chop the morels fine by hand or in a food processoravoid over processing and turning them into a pasteand stir them into the Basic Mayonnaise. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
CAPER AND HERB MAYONNAISE Yield: 1¾ cups 1 cup Basic Mayonnaise 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 4 tablespoons capers, drained and chopped coarse leaves from 15 sprigs fresh tarragon, chopped 1 small bunch parsley, large stems removed, leaves and small stems chopped salt and pepper to taste Combine the Basic Mayonnaise with the other ingredients. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
HAZELNUT MAYONNAISE Yield: 1¼ cups This mayonnaise catches people by surprise because its redolent of hazelnuts but there are no hazelnuts in it. Only a small amount of hazelnut oil is worked into a basic mayonnaise. Its important to use a hazelnut oil thats been made with roasted nutsit will have much more flavor and be far less perishable. As of now there is only one producerLe Blancwho makes his oil this way. Its expensive, too, so unless you use a lot of it, buy the smallest amount possible and keep it in the freezer.
¼ cup hazelnut oil made from roasted nuts (Le Blanc is a good brand)
cup Basic Mayonnaise salt and pepper to taste Mix the oil, a few teaspoons at a time, into the Basic Mayonnaise. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
CURRY MAYONNAISE Yield: 1 cup 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (or more as needed)
tablespoon curry powder (or more as needed)
tablespoons cilantro, chopped fine (optional)
cup Basic Mayonnaise Heat the oil and curry powder in a small pan over medium heat while stirring until you smell the curry, about 1 minute. Stir this mixture into the Basic Mayonnaise. Taste to judge if the amount of curry is enough; if not, heat some more and add it to the mayonnaise. If the mayonnaise starts to get too thick (which can cause it to break) thin it with a teaspoon or two of water. Stir in the cilantro.
SAFRRON AIOLI Yield: 2½ cups 4 egg yolks 4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice 1 teaspoon salt, plus more as needed 1 teaspoon saffron threads soaked in 3 tablespoons water for 30 minutes 3 medium cloves garlic, chopped and crushed with the side of a chefs knife 1 cup pure olive oil or vegetable oil 1 cup extra virgin olive oil In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, lemon juice, and teaspoon of salt. Add the saffron with its soaking liquid and beat in the garlic and pure olive oil with a whisk. (Alternatively, you can use a food processor.) Start by adding the oil very slowly and then gradually increase the amount you add at one time. When youve added all the pure oil, and the mayonnaise starts to thicken, transfer the mayonnaise to a mixing bowl (if you were using a food processor) and gently work in the extra virgin olive oil using a wooden spoon. Add more salt if needed.
TIPS FOR MAKING AIOLI:
Aioli is garlic mayonnaise traditionally made with a mortar and pestle, but most versions now are made in a blender, food processor, or by hand with a whisk. The problem with any method but the mortar and pestle is that the hard beating action turns the extra virgin olive oil bitter. One solution is to work the oil very gently into the egg yolks with a wooden spoon, but this is tedious since the oil has to be added very slowly. Another solution is to make a mayonnaise with pure olive oilwhich is essentially flavorless and doesnt turn bitter when beatenusing a hand whisk. Once the mayonnaise has established itself, and you can add the oil more quickly, switch to a wooden spoon to gently work in the extra virgin olive oil.
