I remember making my first mayonnaise following Elizabeth David’s instructions and being super proud of the science happening before my eyes. Give it a go, as it is so easy and satisfying. It can be flavoured any way you wish but I have given you a few suggestions.
MAKES 200ml
• 1 fresh egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp white wine vinegar
• pinch of salt
• about 100ml olive oil
EQUIPMENT
• small blender
This will take you about 5 minutes, and it is really much easier than you think. If you can’t be bothered to whisk, it works very well in a small blender.
Mayonnaise likes all the equipment to be very clean, a bit like meringues. Add all the ingredients, except the olive oil, to a large clean bowl or to a small blender and whisk everything together thoroughly.
Slowly pour the olive oil in a very thin steady stream into the mix, whisking vigorously. Or add it, a little at a time, to the blender. The aim is to disperse all the oil molecules into the mix so it emulsifies and becomes thick, so you need to go for it with the whisk. The mixture will start to thicken the more oil you add, so keep going until you have a nice thick mayonnaise. Taste for seasoning, adding a little more salt, vinegar or mustard if you think it needs it.
If for some reason the mayonnaise ‘splits’ and it looks like it has separated, you can rescue it by adding an egg yolk to a new clean bowl and then slowly whisking in the split mixture, as you did the oil.
• Lemon: Add extra lemon juice at the end and whisk in. This goes very well with poached prawns, langoustines or lobster.
• English Mustard: Add twice the amount of English mustard at the beginning instead of Dijon. It goes very well in a ham sandwich or with salt beef.
• Wild Garlic: Blend or chop in a handful of wild garlic at the end. This is delicious in devilled eggs or an egg mayo sandwich.
• Dill: Blend or chop in a handful of dill at the end. It’s great with roasted new potatoes and fennel or poached salmon.