lemon mayonnaise
This was an optional item for my sandwich (look for it after this post), but since it was easy to make, I decided to go for it. The really disappointing thing about homemade mayo is it lasts 2-3 days and it makes 1 1/2 cups. That is A LOT of mayo. Even if I spread it on both sides of a sandwich, I’d have to eat a boatload of ‘wiches to use it all up. Anyway, off to making lemon mayonnaise (by the way, did you know it was spelled with two n’s? I kept seeing the red underline from spell check come up every time I typed mayonaise. Oops.)
Mayonnaise is basically an emulsion of egg yolk and oil. In this case, a single egg yolk is able to create all this mayonnaise. I separated one egg into a bowl. I actually broke it mid crack. For some reason, this whole batch of eggs I got from Vons have very week yolk membranes. Weird! I added some Dijon mustard, chopped garlic, cayenne pepper, lemon juice and zest. I put this all in the work cup of my immersion blender. I fired it up and nothing really happened because the blade is recessed into the stick blender to prevent you from chopping up your countertop or bowl accidentally.
The recipe calls for grapeseed oil (for it’s neutral flavor, I’m sure), but I didn’t have any. I substituted canola oil which is also quite neutral in taste. I used a measuring cup with a spout so I could control my pour. You want a slow and steady stream into the egg mixture while you are blending. Halfway through, I added a tablespoon of water. The recipe calls for 1 cup of oil but that seemed like too much to me so I cut it to 3/4 cup. When I was done adding the water, I added an additional 1/4 cup of oil from the lemon confit. Thank goodness I had just made it earlier, right! The downside is I doubt the oil had much time to infuse with the lemons.
I finished with some salt and pepper, covered it, and put it in the icebox (that’s right, I said icebox! What’s next, “pop”?)
Resources: canola oil (Trader Joe’s); dijon mustard (generic Vons); Microplane zester; oil from lemon confit