My basil is doing really well this year; whether because of the shelter provided by the dwarf maple in the next pot over, or because it is simply just that much happier on the front porch as opposed to the deck, or – much more likely – because the beetles from the plantings around the deck that have spent the past several summers on a basil-intensive diet have not found the it in its new home.
Irregardless, I have basil to burn, baby, and life is good!
That said, how’s about a bit of basil and garlic mayonnaise? It’s wicked simple to make from just a few, basic ingredients, and the only special equipment you’ll need is a blender. By the way, if raw eggs are an issue for you, try this no-egg mayonnaise and mebbe just add some of that lovely basil at the end.
INGREDIENTS
•2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
•2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
•1 tbsp champagne vinegar
•1 clove garlic
•1-1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
•1 tsp Tellicherry pepper
•1 cup vegetable oil
•1/2 cup good olive oil
•1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
Pulse the egg yolks in a blender container with the lemon juice, vinegar, garlic, sea salt and pepper until well combined and the garlic is minced.
Combine the vegetable oil and olive oil together in a pitcher and, with the blender running, slo-o-owly drizzle the oil in through the feed hole in the top until the mayonnaise emuslifies.
Note: watch this process, you may not need to use all the oil – my mayonnaise was practically perfect after adding about 1-1/4 cups total of the combined oils. Save the remainder for another dressing, might I suggest Tante Marie’s French? You already have the blender out…
Add the chopped basil leaves to the mayonnaise in the blender container and pulse until nicely puréed.
There you have it – tasty, fresh mayonnaise in about five minutes.
I made this batch specifically for some grilled cheese sammiches we were planning on trying with this spicy mango cheddar we’d come across in a local cheese market. It was… ok. The mango cheddar worked much better with the basil mayonnaise in concept than in practice.
But!
A few nights later, served over a fresh tomato salad alongside leftover steak and provolone quesadillas, it was da bomb! The cucumbers and onion weren’t too, too bad, either.
As with all freshly made mayonnaise, store this in the fridge for up to a week.