Mayo – rich and yellow
Mayonnaise that’s home made is a simple, glorious treat; and it is a slight pain with a lot of mythology built around it. It does involve patience and it does not always work. But recovery from problems is simple. Just follow the instructions and pour the liquid you have mucked up into two more eggs yolks. So:
- Take 3 egg yolks – no egg white allowed at all.
- A bottle of extra virgin olive oil (say 300ml)
- Some blended olive oil (say 200ml) or use sunflower oil if you want
- Some salt, pepper,
- A tablespoon of white wine vinegar
- A blob of white sugar
The eggs need to be at room temperature; and you need to crack ‘em carefully so the whites are not messin’ with your yolks. I use egg-shell halves to pour the egg between – rocking it and sloshing out the egg white. The white is great for meringues.
Then take the three yolks and whisk them either in a bowl (or use a blender or a food processor – you use what you can get). This is where the care and patience comes in. You need to drop the olive oil in, drop by drop whilst whisking. If you go too fast and drizzle or pour streams of the oil – it will all curdle. But with care and time, the oil will emulsify with the egg yolk and form a rich, creamy and will be like nothing shop bought. After about 200ml you can increase your pouring speed – but you should not pour more than a thin line of oil. When you have put in both oils (the lighter oil lightens texture slightly) you can flavour with salt dissolved in the vinegar; you can add garlic if you want (best crushed and thrown in at the start); and a smidge of sugar too – this dissolved in the tablespoon of vinegar.
If you finally pop in a tablespoon of boiling water it will keep, covered, in a ‘fridge for two weeks or so.
