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Aioli is one of those magic sauces, equally at home with both fried foods and poached meats. It is a Spanish garlic mayonnaise — aioli requires garlic to be an aioli — to which I’ve added some saffron for color and flavor.
How to make saffron aioli? Well, traditional aioli uses just garlic and olive oil, but getting it to properly emulsify can be tricky; I do it occasionally. Adding an egg yolk makes things a lot easier.
If you choose to skip the egg yolk, you might want to use the high end of the garlic in the recipe, because members of the allium family — onions, garlic, leeks — can help emulsify oils into mayo-like sauces.
That said, my advice is to use the egg yolk and go with the lower end of the variable ingredients — garlic and lemon juice — the first time you make saffron aioli.
If for some reason your aioli breaks, or is way too thin, put another egg yolk in a clean bowl, then, whisking constantly, drizzle the broken aioli into it. It should come back together and thicken to a mayo-like consistency.
Two large garlic cloves in this recipe will make a powerful sauce, and you might not want things that, well, “loud.” (Read: Stinky) And remember you can always add a little lemon at the end.
What to serve your saffron aioli with?
Well, pictured are salt cod fritters, which are traditional. Some other good choices would be fish and chips, turkey schnitzel, or fried quail. Generally anything fried you eat with your fingers.
Incidentally, when you make Basque cod pil pil, you are, more or less, making aioli in the pan, using the released gelatin from the fish to emulsify things.
Once made, your saffron aioli will keep for a week or so in the fridge. It does not freeze well, however.
Saffron Aioli
Ingredients
- 1 or 2 minced garlic cloves
- 1 or 2 egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice or white wine vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons hot water
- Large pinch of saffron threads
- 3/4 cup olive oil
Instructions
- Crumble the saffron threads into the hot water in a small bowl. Let them steep 10 minutes.
- In the bowl of a blender, briefly buzz the garlic, lemon juice, salt and egg yolks to combine. Add the saffron and the water and buzz until smooth.
- With the motor running, drizzle in the olive oil until the whole thing emulsifies into a mayonnaise-like consistency. Taste for salt and acid, adding a little lemon juice and salt if needed.
- Serve the aioli cold. It should last in the fridge for several days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This sauce is amazing!
When you have your husband bring you saffron from overseas trips just to make this, you know it’s good!