The food processor excels at many things, but none more than mayonnaise. Equipped with a smallish work bowl, an egg, a cup of oil, a dash of vinegar or lemon juice and pretty much anything else you can imagine, you can make unbelievable, mind-blowing mayonnaise while you’re washing the dishes.
The basics are below. But before getting to them, I want to share my latest triumph: pesto mayonnaise. I know this sounds like the sandwich spread offered by a casual dining operation but it is precisely a combination of pesto and mayonnaise, spurred by the abundance of basil in my refrigerator.
You start with mayonnaise, as below. With the egg and vinegar in the work bowl, add a big handful of basil — a loosely packed cup, say — a small handful of walnuts (maybe 1/4 cup, maybe 1/3); two medium cloves of garlic and the usual salt and pepper (leave out the mustard). Make the pesto with olive oil. Taste and adjust seasoning and eat with fish or poached vegetables, or … as a sandwich spread. Just awesome.
It’s worth noting that any mayonnaise (including store bought) can be seasoned (see this Minimalist column from 2007), or thinned — with warm water (just stir a little into the food processor), cream or sour cream; this will make it saucier.
Yield 1 cup
Time 10 minutes
Adapted From "How to Cook Everything" by Mark Bittman
Ingredients
1 egg yolk or whole egg
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice or sherry or white wine vinegar
1 cup neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn, or extra virgin olive oil, or a combination
Method
Put the yolk or egg, mustard, salt, pepper and lemon juice or vinegar in the container of a food processor and turn the machine on. While it's running, add the oil in a slow, steady stream. (Your food processor should have a teeny hole you may never have noticed in the insert -- the "food pusher" -- in the top; if it doesn't, you might want a different food processor.). When an emulsion forms you can add it a little faster. (Again, the little hole makes this unnecessary.) Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
Garlic Mayonnaise (Aioli) — Add 2 or more (as many as 8) cloves of garlic, to taste. Oil should be made up of at least half olive oil.
Chile Mayonnaise — Add 1 or 2 dried chilis, like ancho, Thai, or chipotle, soaked in warm water until soft, then drained, patted dry, and stemmed and seeded. (Or use 1 canned chipotle and a little of its adobo sauce.)
Roasted Pepper Mayonnaise — Add 1 roasted red, yellow or orange bell pepper.
Green Sauce, French-Style — Add 1 sprig tarragon, about 10 sprigs of watercress (thick stems removed), 10 chives and the leaves of 5 parsley stems.
Cold Mustard Sauce — Use 1 heaping tablespoon Dijon-style or whole grain mustard. Thin with a tablespoon or two of cream or sour cream to desired consistency.
13 More Ideas for Flavoring Mayonnaise
Add any of the following ingredients, alone or in combination.
1. A pinch of saffron.
2. Up to 1 tablespoon minced strong fresh herb leaves, like rosemary, oregano, tarragon, marjoram, epazote or thyme.
3. Up to 1/4 cup mild fresh herb leaves, like parsley, cilantro, chives, chervil or basil.
4. Up to 1/4 cup minced sweet pickles.
5. 2 tablespoons soy sauce, or to taste.
6. 1 teaspoon wasabi powder, or to taste.
7. 1 teaspoon or more grated citrus zest.
8. At least a teaspoon prepared horseradish.
9. A few dashes of Tabasco, Worcestershire or other prepared sauce.
10. Up to 1/2 cup toasted chopped almonds, walnuts or pecans.
11. 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger.
12. Up to 2 tablespoons chili powder.
13. 2 or 3 anchovies, blended in at the very end; be sure to omit the salt.
