Allioli

Allioli

Allioli is a traditional Spanish sauce originating in Catalonia. This creamy condiment is commonly served with a variety of dishes like grilled meats, seafood, and tapas, offering a rich, garlicky flavor that enhances any meal.

The name "allioli" comes from the Catalan words "all" (garlic) and "oli" (oil).

servings

Ingredients

  • cloves 

    garlic

     large cloves
  • tbsp 

    lemon juice

     freshly squeezed
  • 1/2 tsp 

    kosher salt

  • tbsp 

    extra virgin olive oil

     sub regular olive oil

Instructions

1

Cut the garlic into rough chunks to help break it down faster. Avoiding cutting it too small as mentioned in the notes.

2

Add the garlic with the 1 tbsp lemon juice and 1/2 tsp kosher salt to a mortar and pestle. Crush everything with the pestle for a few minutes until it starts to form a fairly fine paste.

3

Start slowly adding in 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil while continuing to crush and scrape with the pestle to emulsify into a thick sauce. The oil can be added bit by bit while emulsifying. Serve immediately with an extra drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Notes

This sauce is strong! A little goes a long way.

The lemon juice (or any other acid) is needed to prevent overdeveloping the compound allicin when chopping or crushing garlic. Allicin is responsible for the "spiciness" in garlic, and too much of it can make this sauce overpowering.

This recipe can be made ahead and stored in the fridge for a few days, but the emulsion may break. Quickly stir the mix to re-emulsify if needed.