People who know me would tell you that it's hard to tell which I like more: gardening or cooking. I'd say it depends on which I'm doing at the moment. Anyway, French cooking and French gardening go hand in hand. For me, cooking is an on-going adventure. Join me here on my culinary explorations, where I share with you both my old favorites as well as new inspirations. It's my fondest wish that these recipes serve as a springboard for your own new creations.
12/02/2010
Aioli in a mortar
Ingredients:
To make about 2 cups:
2 medium garlic cloves***
Generous pinch of sea salt
2 room temperature egg yolks from extra fresh farm eggs**
Olive oil* (approximately 2 cups)
A few drops fresh lemon juice
*The flavor of the oil will be very apparent in the aioli, so make sure you like the taste of the oil you're using.
**Yes, this recipe uses raw egg yolks, so make sure your eggs are not from the supermarket but farmfresh and local
***You can use up to an entire small head of garlic of you wish.
Degerm and roughly chop the peeled garlic cloves. Place them in the mortar with the salt and pound into a paste. Begin adding the olive oil drop by drop while you hold the pestle by its end (many pestles have a knob to facilitate this) and, swiveling your wrist, beat the mixture with a circular motion. You should soon start to hear a snapping sound as the mixture starts to emulsify, signifying that your aioli is off to a successful start. Continue adding the oil in a very thin stream, beating constantly. The aioli will start to thicken dramatically. Once you've added about 3/4 of the oil, perform the famous pestle test: Stand the pestle upright in the aioli; if it stays erect without tumbling over, you've incorporated enough oil. However, if you wish, you can keep on adding oil to the full 2 cups, very slowly, beating all the while. If the aioli begins to separate, don't despair. Simply beat in a teaspoon or so of water and it will "come back." Finally, beat in a squirt of fresh lemon juice. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Note: In Provence, the aioli meal is always referred to as the "grand aioli". It consists of a cornucupia of steamed vegetables--carrots, 
artichokes, zuchinni, potatoes, beets (I prefer to roast those in a diable), green beans, whatever; plus steamed fresh fish or salt cod, snails if possible, and even hard boiled eggs. All these "condiments to the aioli" are arranged to make a huge festive platter, from which diners help themselves. In Provence, home-made aioli is just about always made in a mortar, and is often eye-wateringly strong; I prefer it with a puny one clove of garlic per egg yolk, but suit yourself. Finally, make plenty of this sauce; you'll be amazed at how much of it people will eat.
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Products of Interest:
Provençal mortar and pestle
Clay pot 
Provençal garlic jar
Provençal silverware holder
Tuscan poêlon