Making Aioli

Our answer

Aioli is a garickly mayonnaise, which also contains mustard and lemon juice, and is usually served with seafood, such as fritto misto. The mayonnaise for the aioli is normally made with olive oil. However making mayonnaise can be time-consuming as you need to whisk raw egg yolks and oil together very carefully to form an emulsion and many people may find that the taste of the olive oil is quite strong.

Instead we would tend to make a garlic mayonnaise using a good quality store-bought mayonnaise. This is a lot quicker and easier and also has the advantage that it is safe to serve to people who may need to avoid raw or undercooked eggs. Nigella's recipe for Quick Calamari with Garlic Mayonnaise is a great base for aioli and you can add Dijon mustard and lemon juice to your own taste. If you have a microplane grater then this is a good implement to use to grate the garlic finely straight into the bowl of mayonnaise