Recipes

Mayonnaise

(presented at King Market 9/27/09)

I’m not sure where I first encountered homemade mayonnaise but I’ve never gone back. It’s takes about 3 minutes to make and can be adapted in so many ways and is just plain decadent and delicious. Serve with vegetables raw, cooked or roasted; with hard-boiled eggs, or make deviled eggs with it. Homemade mayonnaise makes wonderful sandwiches and salad dressings.

2 egg yolks
juice of 1 lemon
1½ cups oil (see Notes)
salt
pepper
optional: chopped fresh herbs
optional: garlic (see Notes)

In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks in a bowl for a minute, then add ½ the lemon juice, salt and pepper. Slowly begin drizzling the oil into the yolk mixture in a very, very thin stream as you continue whisking. (This takes a little practice.)

After you’ve added 1/4 cup of the oil, you can add the rest of the oil a little more quickly. The mixture will get thicker and thicker as you add the oil. Feel free to stop before adding the full 1 ½ cups of oil if you like the consistency. Adjust the seasonings, adding chopped herbs if desired. Add remainder of lemon juice if necessary.

Notes: I use a mixture of good olive oil and vegetable oil. If you use only olive oil, the mayonnaise may be bitter, depending on the quality of the oil.
If you’re going to add garlic, you must do so in the beginning of the process, before you start whisking in the oil. It’s best to mash the garlic with the salt in a mortar and then add to the egg yolks before adding the oil.

Katherine Deumling

<< back to recipes menu