There is more than one mayonnaise. The sort that sits, glossy and quivering, in its bowl. The stuff that slides from your spoon like softly whipped cream. The shining pool. The thin trickle. The mayonnaise so thick you could cut it with a knife. Olive oil. Groundnut. Rapeseed. Notto forget the stuff that comes in ajar or that you squeeze from atube like toothpaste. You can use it neat or softened with cream or lightenedwith milk or lemon juice, orperk it up with a drop of Pernod ora crushed clove of garlic, or jazz itup with chopped herbs.
We start with egg yolks, of course, but everything depends on our choiceof oil, be it mild or rasping and peppery, nutty or bland. The mayo I whisk up today, dripping the oil oh-so-slowly from its bottle, beating it into the yolks with a wide balloon like whisk, may be thick and glossy, almost green. I will put it on the table with a bowl of fat, salt-encrusted chips. Or perhaps Iwill soften it with a little cream or crème fraîche and serve it with a jug ofscrubbed white celery.
There is a mayonnaise for every occasion. I tend to use a flavourless oil for my everyday mayo, adding alast-minute introduction of bright and fruity olive oil if it seems appropriate. The only time I use purely olive is in late autumn, when there is bright new season's oil to celebrate and we want to bask in its punchy flavour.
Mayonnaise makes a silky dressing,especially when you let it down witha little cream, or even warm, but not hot, water. The mixture will become lighter in colourand can be spooned easily overfritters or asalad of spicy leaves. Best of all, it can be spooned into fish soup to mingle withthe brick-red juices, dancing on the surface inshining pools.
The other night I made a mint and coriander version, folding the roughly chopped herbs in at the last moment.It was used as a dressing for hot lamb, the meat being first grilled, then tossed with the herbed mayonnaise and eaten wrapped in lettuce as crisp as glass. Later, griddled Florence onions, the elongated variety flushed with pink, piled on toasted open-textured bread,trickled with the same mayonnaise made silkier with the addition of cream.
You can whip the cream and add it to mayonnaise, too. It gives the dressing a fluffy texture. Beatthecream until thick, but stopbefore it will stand in peaks. It should just about hold its shape on a spoon. Gently fold it into the mayonnaise with a little salt and, if you wish, somechopped mint, basil or tarragon.It will grace adish of grilledprawns or a single,perfect lettuce or be spooned over blackenedonions still warm from thegriddle.
Lamb steaks, herb mayonnaise
You could do this with rump steak, too. Or a chicken breast.
Serves 4
egg yolks 3
groundnut oil 300ml
lemon juice 1 tsp
mint and coriander 10g total weight
lamb steaks 4, about 150g each
lettuce 12 large, crisp leaves
To finish:
mint and coriander leaves
Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6. Make the dressing: place the egg yolks in a bowl, add a little salt and pepper, then slowly beat in the oil with awhisk, adding the liquid drop by drop at first, then, as the mixture thickens, as athin trickle. When the dressing is thick, season with a little lemon juice, salt and pepper. Roughly chop the coriander and mint, stir into the dressing and set aside.
Warm a griddle pan or overhead grill. Season the lamb steaks with salt and pepper lightly on both sides. Cook them under the grill or on the griddle until crusted and brown on the outside and pink within, then leave to rest for five minutes in a warm place.
Slice the steaks into finger-thick strips, then place in a bowl with half the herb mayonnaise and toss gently until they are lightly coated. Place the lettuce in deep bowls or plates, divide the lamb between them, then add a few sprigs of fresh coriander and some whole mint leaves. Wrap the lamb up in the lettuce leaves and eat.
Blackened onions with garlic mayo
I use pink-flushed Florence onions for this. You could use small sweet onions or large salad onions instead.
Serves 2
red-wine vinegar 1 tbsp
olive oil 2 tbsp
small onions or large spring onions 6
thyme sprigs 12
half the mayonnaise recipe see left
garlic cloves 2
double cream 75ml
ciabatta a small loaf or 2 panini
Warm a griddle pan. Make a dressing by whisking the red-wine vinegar and olive oil together with a fork, season lightly with salt and black pepper, then set aside in a mixing bowl.
Trim the onions, discarding the green stem, then slice each in half. Place the onions on the grill, cut-side down, scatter the thyme over them, and continue cooking until the onions are dark brown and a little charred here and there. Turn them over and cook the other side then, when they are nicely browned, drop them into the dressing and toss them gently before setting aside.
Peel and crush the garlic, then stir it into the mayonnaise. Lightly whip the cream until it is just thick enough to spoon, then stir it into the garlic mayo. Halve the ciabatta lengthways then toast the cut side till pale golden. Place the grilled onions on the toasted bread, spooning over the dressing as you go. Trickle spoonfuls of the garlic herb mayonnaise over the onions and eat immediately, while the onions are still warm.
Email Nigel at nigel.slater@observer.co.uk
