Saffron Aioli with Cayenne Spiced Crispy Potatoes

Slofoodgroup Team September 12, 2019

How To Make Saffron Aioli To Serve With Crispy Potatoes Or Anything Your Heart Desires

Have you ever frequented a fancy restaurant and heard your server refer to the fancy cold sauce concoction of aioli and thought to yourself, "wow, that sounds amazing, I would love to make that at home"?  Now you can with this savory Persian saffron aioli recipe  

The creaminess of the aioli and fragrant saffron perfectly complement shellfish, chicken, vegetables, and more

Making aioli from scratch may sound intimidating but trust us, it is not! The key to aioli, or any other mayonnaise, really, is the slow and gradual incorporation of the oil and the constant stirring. Adding oil little-by-little. By that we mean ½ teaspoon at once, making sure there is enough body for the oil to adhere to. Also, it is very important for the garlic to be paste-like in order to obtain a homogenous composition for the oil to evenly incorporate. Adding a touch of our saffron will give the aioli a nice kick of taste and pop of color. Any other herbs or spices can be added to taste, based on your preference. We like this sauce best with some crispy and spicy potatoes or some fried calamari rings.

Ingredients

For saffron aioli:

• 1 clove of garlic
• Sea salt
• 1 raw egg yolk
• 5-6 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
• Juice ¼ lemon
• 3-4 sprigs of Persian Saffron, Sargol Cut

For the potatoes:

• 2 large potatoes, cut into wedges
• Olive oil
• Sea salt
• Cayenne pepper to taste

Procedure

1. Start by soaking the saffron in the lemon juice in a bowl;
2. In a mortar and pestle, bring together the garlic and the sea salt; grind until a garlic paste is formed;
3. Add the egg yolk in and stir until well combined; slowly incorporate the oil, little-by-little while constantly stirring to avoid separation;
4. After half of the oil quantity is added, introduce the lemon juice, again little-by-little, while constantly stirring; alternate the lemon juice with the remaining oil until everything is well incorporated;
5. Serve next to some oven-roasted potatoes that simply get tossed with a bit of olive oil, sea salt, and cayenne pepper 180℃/350℉.