Aioli Spread Or Dip and Serving Suggestions

Pictured here on sourdough bread next to some baby carrots and a glass of 100% cranberry juice mixed with seltzer water....and I know what you are thinking, why would I trust the tastes of someone who drinks 100% cranberry juice...you probably shouldn't for the most part. However in this case you would be missing out. Over the years I've made this with many types of mayonnaise, real, vegan, canola, olive oil, and some are better than others. My current fave is grape seed vegenaise as it is not too sweet, if the flavor of your mayo is off that will greatly affect the end product. I would not suggest using anything light as it often has a sweet aftertaste, beyond that use what tastes good to you. The only unfortunate thing about this recipe is that I have not yet figured out how to make it soy free so that little man can enjoy it, almost all mayonnaise type spreads use soy in them. I have some ideas though and I will get back to you on those.

Aioli is traditionally a blend of garlic, olive oil, eggs, and lemon juice, and it is fantastic. Mostly in america you will find that the process is shortened by using mayonnaise, this makes it super simple to veganize. Here is my version, it isn't really revolutionary, you will probably find similar recipes elsewhere on the interwebs, but if you have never tried it you simply must! It takes three ingredients to make this....are you ready?? It's super simple, why not give it a go?

1 cup mayonnaise (of your preference)

5-8 cloves of garlic peeled and pressed (I think I used 7 this time....we REALLY like garlic)

2 tsp lemon juice

Stir everything together and chill.

This is fantastic spread thinly over GOOD sourdough bread. It also works very well as a dip for veggies, and pretzels. My husbands favorite pasta salad is simply pasta tossed with aioli, and he will tell you it is one of the dishes that made him decide he wanted to marry me (yes, we both love garlic that much).

This is also the spread that I use on my famous summer wraps and for some of my favorite sandwiches. For the summer wraps I spread it onto a large tortilla (usually spinach) add roma tomatoes, spinach, and thinly sliced basil leaves, so simple....soooooo tasty. Sometimes shredded cucumber and carrots work their way into the mix. Or a hunk of aged parmesean cheese. For a fantastic portabella veggie burger experience cook a portabella mushroom burger according to directions and instead of placing on a bun slather some ciabatta bread with aioli and add spinach and roma tomatoes. Another super simple, but tasty favorite of mine is an aioli and avocado sandwich......which is just what it sounds like....aioli and slices of avocado...yum!