SC - Re: A cooking question-ALLIOLI

[Joan Nicholson]

Allioli Autèntic
(from Catalan Cuisine by Colman Andrews)

6 cloves garlic, or more to taste, peeled
1/2 tsp salt
250 ml/8 fl oz mild extra-virgin olive oil

Cut each clove of garlic in half lengthways and discard any green pieces,
then finely chop the garlic.

Scatter salt in the bowl of a large mortar and add the garlic. Mash the
garlic gently with the pestle, mixing it with the salt until it takes on the
consistency of a thick paste.

Add the olive oil very slowly, a few drops at a time, while stirring the
mixture with the pestle, using slow, even motions and always stirring in the
same direction. Continue adding oil until an emulsion forms. Less than the
full 250 ml might be sufficient to obtain this result, in which case do not
use the rest, as it will "break" the emulsion.

Serve immidiately.

Note: it is very important for the success of the emulsion that all the
ingredients be at room temperature - even the garlic.

Andrews says authentic allioli can´t be made in a processor, not only
because "the very thought is sacrilege to a good Catalan (that´s part of his
heritage you´re threatening to throw in that machine, for heaven´s sake).
More to the point, though, the oil and garlic get too homogenised in a
processor, and the emulsion doesn´t hold." (He also says this takes a lot of
pracice, and some of the region´s most famous chefs openly admit the can´t
always get the damned thing to work - the real experts are fishermen and
rural grandmothers.)

Nanna