Mayonnaise

No time to make Mayonnaise? Think again, with KitchenAid or a simple whisk it’s easier than you think. Perfect with fish such as Salmon, Salads, eggs, poultry and vegetables. Mayonnaise - the “mother” of cold sauces.

Ingredients - makes about ½ pint/300ml

• 2 egg yolks - room temperature
• 4floz/120ml vegetable oil
• 4½floz/130ml light olive oil
• pinch English mustard powder such as Colmans
• 1 dessertspoon White Wine Vinegar
• ¼ teasp Salt

Method

First and most important, make sure that everything is a room temperature or the mixture may curdle.
Fix your KitchenAid with the wire whip attachment.
Mix the 2 oils together.
Put the egg yolks in a clean bowl, add the salt, mustard and vinegar and turn the whisk on to low. After a minute or so start to very, very slowly pour the oil into the bowl, start off with a very thin trickle and as it thickens turn up the mixer speed and gradually add the oil a little faster. When all the oil has been added check for seasoning and adjust to taste.

See not too painful was it?

Alternatively use a hand held electric whisk and follow the above instructions. - Use a damp tea towel to hold the bowl in place so that your free hand can pour in the oil. (Unless of course you’re a bit odd and have 3 hands)

Now that you have your mayonnaise you can flavour it with a variety of ingredients:-

Garlic - I must admit I’m deeply passionate about this, especially with deep fried mushrooms. Just add 1 - 3 crushed garlic cloves to the basic mix with a little chopped parsley for colour.

Orly or Marie Rose - Great with the ubiquitous prawn - just add 1 or 2 tablespoons of tomato puree to the mayonnaise. Great with Fried fish too.

Herb - Any strongly flavoured herb such as Dill, Basil, Fennel, Tarragon. Add 2 - 3 tablespoons of the chosen herb - chopped up first.

Red Chilli - Depending how hot you like your food, add from ½ to 1 teaspoon of Harissa or finely diced red chilli to the basic mayonnaise. - Great with BBQ chicken or fish goujons.

Tip

If the mayonnaise curdles all is not lost. Either put another egg yolk or 1 or 2 tablespoons of boiling water into a fresh bowl and whisk in the curdled mayonnaise ½ a teaspoon at a time until it stabilises.