Hi,

Since the second favorite discussion here seems to be all things edible, I have a question for the experts: I bought some aioli in France last week and I'd love to use it but I'm just not sure what to do with it. Suggestions??

Patti

Salad dressing... mmm.

Use it as a dip for fresh crusty bread when having antipasti (or Tapas). Or simply buy olives, goat cheese and dried tomatoes in oil.
Like we'll have tonight for dinner...

Aioli is basically a flavored mayonnaise, so I would use it like mayo. Aioli is delicious on sandwiches (like grilled steak or chicken), crab cakes, grilled fish, etc.

Un "grand aioli" is an incredible smorgasbord (sorry for mixing the metaphors) of every imaginable sea and land critter (especially those in shells), and vegetables as well... and they all go in the aioli.

One of my most memorable culinary memories, at someone's house - - in Normandy of all places! - - our hostess was a lover of all things Provencal.

Best wishes,

Rex

In Provence it is served with raw vegetables, cruditiés. The aioli is the dip.Aioli makes a wonderful accompaniment to fish soups and of course, is an essential part of the Grand Aioli, the great feast dish of every village fete.

garlic (10 cloves)
olive oil (1/2 lt.) raw egg yolk (1)
cooked egg yolk (1)
salt

In a mortar, crush the garlic into a fine paste. Add the egg yolks and salt lightly. Mix in the olive oil very slowly until you obtain a smooth paste.

We've personally only made this in small quantities, without much measurement. Some of the recipes we've seen list other quantities:
- (4 people) 6 cloves garlic; 1 egg yolk; 1/2 litre olive oil
- (6 people) 12 cloves garlic; 2 egg yolks; 1/2 litre olive oil

As I'm fond of telling servers who pronounce it AyeOHli, it's pronounced aye of LEE.

I love the stuff. It's great spread lightly on thin slices of toasted French bread and topped with just a smidge of tapenade.

Sorry--my eyes are crossing this morning.

Servers call it aye OH lee; should be
aye oh LEE. Probably you all know that anyway!

Steam a pot of plump mussels in white wine and herbs, then mix in a large quantity of Aye-oh-LEE - YUM!!! =D>

A local restaurant serves aioli as a dip for what they call Tuscan fries. Large steak fries with fried garlic and basil. Delish.

The way I understand aioli is a mixture of garlic and oil (olive) exclusively.
If you add egg, then it will be aieggioli.

It is a fabulous spread on sandwiches, particularly that crusty olive-embedded bread. I usually toast that type of bread, then spread aioli on it, or you can add coldcuts and slices of provolone to it. Viola-bon appetit!

Egg or no egg, it goes great with steaming-hot, boiled, peeled, potatoes !

Wonderful with Bouillabaise. Put a little right in the soup and serve the rest on toasted French bread. And delicious with fried or boiled potatoes.

I was going to mention bouillabaise as well. yum...

crabcakes and aioli = bliss

The French friend who taught me to make aioli always used eggs, for what that's worth.

Oh Yum! Thanks everybody! Can't wait to go home and boil some potatoes. Or make some frites. Or buy some crusty bread. Or steam some mussels.

Please keep those ideas coming!

Patti

The Aioli always has eggs in the recipe. For bouillabaisse it is the ROUILLE , similiar to aioli but has red coloring which is usually from the saffron threads and cayenne pepper. Some recipes use hot peppers, (jalapeno or pimentos)