Aioli

Aioli, allioli or aïoli ( or ; Provençal oc, alhòli or ''aiòli'' ; ca, allioli ; es, alioli ) is a cold sauce consisting of an emulsion of garlic and olive oil; it is found in the cuisines of the northwest Mediterranean, from Andalusia to Calabria.

The names mean "garlic and oil" in Catalan and Provençal. It is found in the cuisines of the Mediterranean coasts of Spain (Catalonia, the Valencian Community, the Balearic Islands, Murcia, and eastern Andalusia), France (Provence), Italy (Sicily and Calabria), and Malta.

Some versions of the sauce are closer to a garlic mayonnaise, incorporating egg yolks and lemon juice, whereas other versions lack egg yolk and contain more garlic. This gives the sauce a pastier texture, making it more laborious as the emulsion is harder to stabilize.J.-B. Reboul, ''La Cuisinière Provençale'' 1910 (1st edition); 1989 (25th edition), p. 88Robert Courtine, ''The Hundred Glories of French Cooking'' (tr. Derek Coldman), 1973, p. 140Henri Philippon, ''Cuisine de Provence'', 1977 (2nd ed), p. 20Mireille Johnston, ''The Cuisine of the Sun'', 1976; Johnston gives one recipe without extra flavorings (p. 75) and one with mustard (p. 229) There are many variations, such as adding lemon juice or other seasonings. In France, it may include mustard.Prosper Montagné, ''Larousse Gastronomique'' (1938, tr. 1961), ''s.v.''

Like mayonnaise, aioli is an emulsion or suspension of small globules of oil and oil-soluble compounds in water and water-soluble compounds. In Spain, purists believe aioli should not include egg, but in France and elsewhere, egg or egg yolk is the usual emulsifier.

Since about 1990, it has become common in the United States to call all flavored mayonnaises ''aioli''. Purists insist that flavored mayonnaise can contain garlic, but true aioli contains garlic and no other seasoning (except salt).

Etymology

The word is a transparent compound of the words meaning "garlic" and "oil."

The English spelling comes from the French ''aïoli'', which itself comes from Occitan. The spelling in Occitan may be ''alhòli'', following the classical norm, or ''aiòli'', following the Mistralian norm. In Catalan it is spelled ''allioli'' (). The most common term in Spanish is ''alioli'', an adaptation from Catalan, although it is also called ''ajoaceite'', ''ajiaceite'', ''ajolio'' or ''ajaceite''. It is also spelt ''alioli'' in Galician.

Basic recipe

Garlic is crushed in a mortar and pestle and emulsified with salt and olive oil. Today, aioli is often made in a food processor or blender, but some traditionalists object that this does not give the same result.

Serving

In Malta, arjoli or ajjoli is commonly made with the addition of either crushed galletti (a type of cracker) or tomato.

In Occitan cuisine, ''aioli'' is typically served with seafood, fish soup, and croutons. An example is a dish called ''merluça amb alhòli''.

In the Occitan Valleys of Italy it is served with potatoes boiled with salt and bay laurel.

In Provençal cuisine, ''aioli'' or, more formally, ''le grand aïoli'', ''aioli garni'', or ''aïoli monstre'' is a dish consisting of various boiled vegetables (usually carrots, potatoes, artichokes, and green beans), poached fish (normally soaked salt cod), snails, canned tuna, other seafood, and boiled eggs, all served with ''aioli''. This dish is often served during the festivities on the feast days of the patron saint of Provençal villages and towns. It is traditional to serve it with snails for Christmas Eve and with cod on Ash Wednesday. Aïoli is so strongly associated with Provence that when the poet Frédéric Mistral started a regionalist Provençal-language newspaper in 1891, he called it '' L'Aiòli''.

The Provençal cuisine fish soup bourride is generally served with ''aioli''. Waverly Root, ''The Food of France'', 1958-1992,
p. 359
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In Spain, particularly in Catalan cuisine and Valencian cuisine, ''allioli'' is often served with arròs negre, arròs a banda, fideuà, with grilled snails (''cargols a la llauna''), lamb, rabbit, vegetables, boiled cod (''bacallà a la catalana, bacallà amb patates'') and comes in other varieties such as ''allioli de codony'' (allioli with boiled quince, not the preserve) or allioli with boiled pear. Other commonly used vegetables are beets, fennel, celery, zucchini, cauliflower, chickpeas, and raw tomato.

See also

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References

{{Condiments

Catalan cuisine
Cuisine of Provence
French cuisine
Garlic dishes
Italian cuisine
Macedonian cuisine
Maltese cuisine
Mayonnaise
Spanish cuisine
Tapas