Epic Failure – Roasted Garlic Aioli

Every once in a while I have a recipe that just does not work.  When this happens, I label it an epic failure.  Today it wasn’t the recipe but the ingredients that ruined my meal.  I was coming up with a nice Roasted Garlic Aioli for a Bacon Lettuce and Tomato Sandwich that I making for my chapter in the book 55 knives (Yeah, I’m writing a chapter in a book).  Aioli’s are simple and easy to make.  Add a couple of egg yolks, with some acid and a bit of oil.  Nothing too hard.  But I royally screwed mine up by using a store brand Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

I started by roasting the garlic.  Then I squeezed the roasted garlic into a food processor with two egg yolks, the juice of a small lemon, a pinch of cayenne and a some salt.  With the food processor running, I drizzled in some olive oil till thick to make a nice aioli. The aioli looked amazing.  The flavor on the other hand, not so much.

The cheap flavor of the olive oil ruined the aioli.  So much so, that I still can’t get the taste out of my mouth.  I want to go out back and eat some grass with Tucker to get rid of the taste.  It is lingering.

If I have learned anything from this fiasco, it is that ingredients matter.  If things cost less there may be a reason for it.  You get what you pay for.  Not to say that all cheap ingredients taste bad, but you definitely need to taste the cheap ingredients before using them.

Needless to say, I need to recreate the Aioli.  I think I might go back to using a flavorless canola oil so that the roasted garlic flavor shines through.

-Rex