Aïoli .

The name ‘aïoli’ refers to the sauce, or rather, the cream. The dish ‘aïoli garni’ (garnished aioli) is named after it.

AÏOLI : Preparation time 30min. Serves 6.

Ingredients: 8 garlic cloves, 3 large pinches of salt, 3 egg yolks, 3 grinds of milled white pepper, 750ml olive oil.
Utensils: a marble or stone mortar and wooden pestle.
Recommendations: put the garlic, eggs, oil, mortar and pestle in the same room overnight so that they all reach the same temperature.

Peel the garlic, and remove and throw away the shoot. In the mortar, grind and finely crush the salt and garlic with the pestle. Add the egg yolks, and stir for 2 minutes. It is important to then let the mixture rest for 5 minutes!
Drizzle the olive oil in an increasingly large trickle, and mix in the same direction. The aïoli should have a very thick consistency, with the pestle able to stick upright in the mortar.

Garnish: Preparation and cooking time 2 hours.

Ingredients: 6 potatoes, 6 carrots, 1kg romano beans, 1 cauliflower, 500g cod, 1kg snails, 6 eggs, salt.

Preparation: the evening before, cut the cod into 6 pieces. Leave to desalt. Change the water before you go to bed, and 2 or 3 times before cooking. Cook the vegetables separately. Poach the cod in simmering water for a few minutes. Place the vegetables in a large, deep dish. Put the snails in a vegetable dish. Place the cod and eggs in an oval serving dish. Place the mortar of aïoli in the middle of the table.

You could also add: artichokes, Jerusalem artichokes, beetroot, sweet potatoes, mussels, octopus etc.

Recipe taken from ‘La Cuisine du soleil’ by Gui Gedda, published by Jeanne Laffite.