EATS: Aioli Sauce Recipe

Today I was making one of my favorite side dishes—patatas bravas (I’ll share the recipe soon)— and the occasion called for a fresh batch of aioli sauce. There are a lot of “cheat” aioli sauce recipes out there that just throw in a handful of ingredients with mayonnaise. You can take that route but it’s called a cheat recipe for a reason. Short cuts equal lower quality and it just will not compare to the real deal. If you want a truly delicious aioli sauce for yourself and guests to enjoy then just pull these simple ingredients from your refrigerator and pantry. Invest 5 minutes of your time and voilà! You’ll be serving an epic aioli. If you’re going to do it, do it right.

Aioli sauce is a great dip for a lot of Spanish cuisine and other finger food favorites. Croquetas, patatas bravas, fried seafood (such as calamari or shrimp), you can put a dollop on your steak, french fries, use it as a spread on your bread, or dip your french fries. As you know, I’m always thinking about football season and creating menus for really good game days eats. Aioli sauce is the perfect dip for so many great finger foods and small plates that you should plan on making it whenever you have watch parties for any occasion. There are so many ways to enjoy aioli sauce. Let’s get to it!

Aioli Sauce Ingredients

• 2 egg yolks

• 1 clove of garlic, minced

• 4 cloves of roasted garlic (in a small saute pan slice garlic lengthwise and cook over medium heat with a tablespoon of oil. Cook each side until lightly golden brown)

• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

• 1 teaspoon hot chili pepper paste (Harissa is a good brand to use)

• 2 teaspoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

• 1/2 cup olive oil

• 1/2 cup of vegetable oil

• 2 teaspoons sherry vinegar

• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

• 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika spice

• 1 Tablespoon of water

Aioli Sauce Instructions

• Set vegetable oil and olive oil aside.

• Add all aioli sauce ingredients except for the vegetable oil and the olive oil into a food processor. Alternatively, you may put in a medium mixing bowl and use a hand held immersion blender to combine.

• Next, slowly drizzle vegetable oil into the aioli sauce. It is important to add the vegetable oil first so that the sauce doesn’t break.

• Once the aioli sauce starts to thicken up, finish with the olive oil. Mix just enough to combine all ingredients. Note: be careful to not over process the aioli sauce or your aioli may turn bitter .

• Place into serving bowl and serve.