Black Olive Mayonnaise

Y’all, I barely made it out alive.

This weekend we saw the food documentary, Food Inc. It is an amazing movie that does an excellent job telling the story of the food we eat, where it comes from and what it is doing to our health and the earth. I loved the movie. But there was one little wrinkle.

Before the movie started, I walked into the theater carrying a large Pepsi and giant-sized popcorn with extra butter. Oppps. Not the proper venue for such guilty pleasures. My fellow movie going, good food advocates were not happy with me.

Reminiscent of the days when anti-fur protesters tossed red paint on people wearing fur coats, I half expected someone to march over to the concession stand, come back to my seat and dump a bucket of chemically engineered popcorn butter on my head, screaming “You’re killing yourself and the earth!”

So, I have two recommendations. First, go see the movie…it’s eye opening. Secondly, if you must have popcorn, put it in a bag marked “Organic Trail Mix.” They’ll never know the difference.

Let’s talk mayo.

I like mayo. What’s not to like. At its best, mayonnaise can be a fabulous and versatile condiment and at its worse (the bland engineered supermarket version), it can be totally forgettable.

It can be smooth, rich with a touch of acidity – the ideal match for a hearty burger, the final creamy touch for a fresh potato salad or the perfect topper to a mile-high BLT.

So, when I spotted this recipe for Black Olive Mayonnaise in ’wichcraft by Tom Colicchio, I was instantly down with the cause.

In technical terms…it’s yummy.

The black olives are obviously the ingredient that makes this mayo stand apart from your standard variety. The olives add a robust, briny flavor that would be perfect for today’s bold burger/sandwich combinations (think braised beef & blue cheese burger or a roasted pork, avocado sandwich on ciabatta…I just made myself hungry, again).

There are three main parts to any mayonnaise: egg, acid and oil. An egg is an egg. So, I’ll just touch on the other two components.

Instead of using lemon juice as the acid, this recipe calls for the more subtle white wine vinegar. This recipe is a ‘no lemon juice’ party. The olives are the star and they don’t want to share the stage with no stinking loud-mouth party crashing lemon juice.

Then there’s the choice of oils. Since olive oil has such a bold flavor that could easily overwhelm a mayo, it should be paired with a more neutral oil. This recipe calls for grapeseed oil – which adds a subtle flavor. You could also use walnut oil.

This time, I paired the mayo with a simple serving of blanched and chilled asparagus. The briny, creamy olive mayonnaise was a perfect match for the asparagus.

I hope you enjoy it.

BLACK OLIVE MAYONNAISE

Via the ’wichcraftby Tom Colicchio

NOTE: As in most mayonnaise, this recipe uses raw eggs, which should not be served to pregnant women, young children, the elderly or anyone whose health is compromised. Pasteurized eggs may be substituted.

1 large egg yolk

½ TSP Dijon mustard

½ TSP chopped garlic

2 TBL pitted and chopped Niçoise olives

1 TBL white wine vinegar

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

½ cup grapeseed oil

Freshly ground black pepper

Place the egg yolk, mustard, garlic, olives and vinegar in a food processor or blender. Start the blender and add 1 tablespoon of water.

With the blender running evenly at medium speed, slowly add the olive oil in a thin, even stream. Then add the grapeseed oil, season with pepper and blend until you have a smooth mayonnaise.

Use immediately or store in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator for up to 2 or 3 days.

Makes about 1 cup

Tagged as: Asparagus, Mayonnaise