Two Great Recipes for the Price of One! Homemade Garlic Mayo (alioli) and Baby Watercress Tea Sandwiches
Oooh, and a steep price it is….Free. LOL Before moving here to the Canaries it never–and I mean NEVER–would have occurred to me to make my own mayonnaise. I mean, why? It’s so easy to buy it at the store, and inexpensive to boot. Why would anyone even bother? But then I tried my mother in law’s alioli. It was like a serious revelation, a turning point in my life. Homemade mayo? WAY better than store bought. Add garlic? Even *better* than WAY better than store bought. It only takes about 2 minutes start to finish, too. You’ll need a food processor or blender with an opening at the top to pour in the oil, but it really is one of the easiest things in the world to make. So that’s recipe number one of this post. Keep reading for a super easy spring/summer sandwich recipe…
Â
Ingredients:
2 generous pinches of sea salt (the amount that you can pick up between your thumb and fingers)
3 cloves garlic (more or less, to taste)
1 egg
sunflower oil (I prefer sunflower to olive in this recipe…the olive oil makes the alioli bitter imo)…now this will vary, but about a cup?
2-3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Preparation:
Add salt, garlic and egg to your food processor or blender and process until garlic is finely chopped.
In a thin, steady stream (this is really important), add the sunflower oil until the sauce thickens. I have had it happen where the mayo never thickens. Don’t worry, just pour the mixture into another receptacle, add another egg and slowly pour it back in in a steady stream.
When the mayo has thickened, add the vinegar (processing all the while) to mix.
Adjust salt.
Done!
How easy was THAT?
Alioli goes very well with just about everything (except dessert), so be sure to have it handy at all times! lol It keeps in the refrigerator for about 3-4 days, tightly covered.
Now, let’s move on to that sandwich recipe I promised. Would you LOOK at this organic baby watercress my veggie vendor had?!
Doesn’t that just look fresh and delicious?! Watercress is a very common ingredient in Canarian cooking. We make stews with it, salads, and the ever popular, “Sandwich de Berros.” (berros=watercress) The watercress sandwich is common for breakfast, for an afternoon snack, and is often served at family gatherings and parties. The sandwiches are great when you first make them, but in my opinion are even better the next day, so they are a perfect make ahead addition to whatever fun gathering you have planned.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup alioli
4 cups baby watercress (or regular watercress, stems removed)
1 loaf sandwich bread
Preparation:
Place alioli and watercress in your food processor and blend until smooth.
Spread mixture on sandwich bread and cut into triangles.
Cover and reserve in refrigerator until ready to serve.
Nikki, your Aioli is sublime and yes, very easy to make.
I should mention that only the freshest eggs should be used and pregnant women should skip this until after birth.
Comment by Peter — April 11, 2008 @ 2:02 pm
I have never made my own mayo, Nikki, and this is inspiring!
I’m a huge watercress fan, so these sandwiches would make me so happy.
Comment by Patricia Scarpin — April 11, 2008 @ 2:36 pm
Peter, thank you!
I totally agree about the eggs and pg women, and while we’re at it, small children(toddlers and under) should steer clear as well. I had planned on mentioning that and forgot to…Ooops!
Patricia, give it a whirl! I bet you’d be so pleased with the mayo, and the results are incredible. Mix that up with some watercress, and it can only get better!
Comment by nikki — April 11, 2008 @ 2:44 pm
This looks great- I don’t know that I could use it all up in 3/4 days though!! The watercress looks so amazing. One of my favorites.
Comment by RecipeGirl — April 11, 2008 @ 3:33 pm
I have a super large list of ‘things’ I’ve yet to make. IT’s the LONGEST list in the world. btw. And of course, Mayo is one of them.
Comment by Pixie — April 11, 2008 @ 5:14 pm
Hola Nikki! Me encanta tu allioli/Mayo! Different from the one I do but I bet it was the tastiest!!! Super for sandwiches
Just one question: why pregnant women cannot have it??????
Never heard of this before.
Comment by Núria — April 11, 2008 @ 5:38 pm
Mmm…that looks wonderful. I’ve always heard mayo isn’t difficult to make but never knew what it really entailed. I guess it really is just that easy! I wonder how they make the low fat kind…
Comment by gaga — April 11, 2008 @ 5:47 pm
I love cucumber, radish, tomatoes sandwichs but never tried watercress sandwichs. What a great idea.
Comment by Hélène — April 11, 2008 @ 6:05 pm
That looks SO good! You know, I’ve never had watercress. It’s so pretty!
Comment by elle — April 12, 2008 @ 3:16 am
Why did I think watercress sandwiches were reserved for high tea and the ladies in the red hats? I think I live in a bubble.
Comment by gizmar — April 12, 2008 @ 4:00 am
Hola Nikki (my friend Nuria taught me that) I coming over from the Leftover Queen. Wow I’m impressed by your aioli sauce, I think I’m going to make it right away. It will be great on sandwiches.
Comment by Ivy — April 12, 2008 @ 11:14 am
Your aioli just smacks of flavour. It would be good as a dipping sauce even on my yam fries:D
Comment by Bellini Valli — April 12, 2008 @ 9:42 pm
Making your own mayo sounds like fun. I like the garlic mayo idea! Your mayo looks like it turned out really well with a nice colour and consistency.
Comment by Kevin — April 12, 2008 @ 9:48 pm
isn’t aioli awesome?! i love making a saffron aioli to dip fried calamari in. i love the picture of the watercress in a bowl!
Comment by Antonio — April 13, 2008 @ 7:23 am
RecipeGirl, you’d be surprised how fast this stuff goes…it makes a mean potato salad, or tuna/chicken salad…is good on sandwiches, on steak, on calamari, on shrimp, on burgers—do I sound like Forrest Gump yet? lmfao
Pixie, I have one of those lists, too! Mine is comprised mostly of yeast related concoctions. lol
Núria, Gracias mi cielo!
How do you make yours if I may ask? They say that pregnant women should stay away from alioli because of the raw egg. I must confess, though, that I didn’t follow that rule. Or the “no sushi” rule either. :O lol
Gaga, hmmm…how *do* they make the lowfat kind? No clue, here. At any rate, sunflower oil obvs has fat, but at least it’s the “good” kind of fat, like olive oil.
Hélène, cucumber sandwiches are one of my favorites! Try the watercress, I bet you’d love it.
Elle, thank you, sweet pea! You’re going to have to rectify that watercress situation, you know. lol I should tell you, though…I think it’s another one of those loveit or hate it foods like cilantro. lol
Gizmar, I have no idea why you thought that? But let me just say that I don’t fit in to that crowd, like, at all. lmfao I live more in the world of wild and crazy swearing like sailors tea sandwich eaters.
Hola Ivy! Thank you! Alioli is *great* on sandwiches…I hope you like it!
Val, garlic mayo is *awesome* on fries, and I think on your yam fries, it would be pure genius! YUM!
Thank you, Kevin!
Hi Antonio…saffron alioli? That sounds fabulous! And pass the plate of calamari, please! I’m hungry now that I’ve been reading y’all’s comments. lol Thanks for the compliment on the pic, too.
Comment by nikki — April 13, 2008 @ 9:09 am
Hee, I wasn’t paying attention and thought I’d stumbled onto a dessert post
If you say it’s a million times better than store mayo, I must try it, then! I think using yolks only or organic yolks makes an ivory-colored beauty
Comment by manggy — April 13, 2008 @ 3:30 pm
Hola guapa! I do my allioli with 2 or 3 garlic cloves, 1 yolk egg, some salt and olive oil. The recipe is in my blog, really easy too.
This thing about pregnant women… I don’t give credibility to it! What I did heard is that if you do your allioli while you have your period it gets cut (se corta). And it’s not true either… I’ve tried it
Comment by Núria — April 14, 2008 @ 2:56 pm
love it: am a lush for watercress (really!) but that aioli combine in a dainty tea sandwich….that’s pretty + yum!
enjoy the energy on your posts; look forward to keeping up with your fun
Comment by taste memory girl — April 14, 2008 @ 5:45 pm
Is that watercress from your garden???? Lovely looking aioli too.
Comment by Nina — April 14, 2008 @ 6:26 pm
Hey Mark, LOL, I think dessert is the only thing that alioli doesn’t go well with.
Núria, jiii! Se corta, eh? Pos, no. No es verdad. I know it’s not true. lol I do think that it fails to emulsify if you’re angry when manking it. Or maybe that’s just me. If I’m in a foul mood, my alioli never turns out. It needs to be made with love. LOL
Hi TasteMemory Girl!
Thank you so much for your kind comment. I look forward to getting to know you as well. 
Nina, I only wish I had a garden. I tend to have a brown thumb (as opposed to a green one) when it comes to gardening, unfortunately.
I did pick up some more seeds this morning, for chives, dill and sprouts…here’s to hoping they survive! LOL 
Comment by nikki — April 15, 2008 @ 12:48 pm