Lady Lunchalot

I’ve always wanted to make mayonnaise, but my lazy streak had always got the better of me. Deliciously decadent handmade mayo takes A LOT of beating to get right, and if your arm isn’t up to it your mayo will curdle before you can say Fatty Boombah.

I was thinking of mayo as I made a salad for our new years barbecue last night, and I had a bit of time up my sleeve and realised that there is a KitchenAid mixer taking pride of place in our kitchen now, so I don’t need to exhaust my biceps in the quest for the perfect mayonnaise anymore.

I started with three egg yolks, a pinch of salt and a couple of cloves of crushed garlic, and then gradually added in about 300ml of olive oil over the course of about 20 minutes. The KitchenAid did all the work really, I just had to make sure that the egg yolk and olive oil emulsified properly without curdling so I added the oil in very small amounts. Patience, when cooking, is definitely a virtue, and the kitchen is pretty much the only place in which I have the patience of a saint!

The mixture gradually became paler and whiter as it emulsified. Once all the oil was mixed in and accepted by the egg yolks I added some sugar and finely chopped parsley.

The results were drizzled all over my salad, and I still have leftovers in the fridge for sandwiches. Yum!