Catalan Style Aioli Recipes

EASY ALLIOLI, CATALAN GARLIC SAUCE RECIPE

Steps:

• Roast the whole bulbs of garlic at 200C/Gas Mark for 30 minutes, until they feel soft to the touch. Allow to cool
• Peel the bulb and cloves: scrape the soft roasted garlic into the bowl of a small food processor, add pinch of salt and pulse for a few seconds scraping the sides down as you go.
• Add the egg and lemon juice, and blend together for a few seconds.
• Continue blending, and slowly drizzle in the oil, stopping from time to time to scrape the sides down.
• Once thick with a mayonnaise like consistency check the flavour and add a little more salt if needed.

ALLIOLI

Steps:

• Put garlic paste and egg yolks in a mixing bowl and whisk together. Whisk in olive oil slowly, a tablespoon at a time, until mixture begins to thicken. (Caution: Adding oil too quickly may cause the sauce to curdle.)
• When 1/2 cup oil has been added and sauce is quite thick, whisk in 2 to 3 tablespoons water, then continue to add oil gradually, thinning once more if necessary. The consistency should be like whipped cream, but not too stiff. Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate for up to several hours. Sauce tastes best the day it is made.

BULLINADA (CATALAN FISH STEW WITH AIOLI)

Steps:

• In a large pot, heat oil over medium. Add onions, stirring occasionally, and cook until they begin to soften, about 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the minced garlic and cook until fragrant and lightly golden, 1 minute.
• Stir in saffron, and pour in fish stock and wine. Add potatoes, fennel seeds, orange peel, a large pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for about 25 minutes, until potatoes are tender.
• Season fish with salt and pepper. Remove orange peels from soup and add fish. Cook, covered, over medium-low heat until fish is opaque and flaky, 4 to 14 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets. Using a metal spatula or knife, break the fish into chunks.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, lemon juice, remaining garlic and Aleppo pepper. Slowly stir in a ladle of hot stock into mayonnaise mixture. Gently stir mayonnaise mixture into simmering soup. Heat through, without reaching a boil (the mayonnaise will curdle). Stir in parsley and taste, adding more salt if you'd like. When serving, garnish with more parsley and Aleppo.

CATALAN STYLE AIOLI

Steps:

• Garlic cloves in your mortar, add a pinch of salt, and start pounding with the pestle. Pound and mash the garlic and the salt with the pestle until you obtain a very fine and smooth paste. This step is essential for binding garlic and olive oil properly with mortar and pestle. If your garlic paste is not smooth and fine enough, the aioli will tend to break much easier. Now, while you stir the mixture with the pestle in one hand, start adding the olive oil very slowly, almost drop by drop. Stir constantly until you obtain a thick paste.