Crudites and Sauce Aioli
From Jacques Richard, Aquarelle
Aioli
20 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
6 eggs
pinch white pepper
pinch cayenne pepper
2 1/8 cups extra-virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
note: True French sauce aioli, a garlicky mayonnaise, is made by hand because the aggressive action of a blender or even a whisk compromises the delicate flavor of the extra-virgin olive oil.
Place the garlic cloves and salt in a large mortar and, using a pestle, work to a paste. Separate the eggs, discarding whites. Add the yolks to the mortar one at a time, stirring rapidly with the pestle (yes, the pestle). Add the white pepper and cayenne. Then add the oil slowly, stirring vigorously, until the mixture begins to thicken and emulsify. (Adding the oil too fast will cause the sauce to break.) Stop to add lemon juice periodically while incorporating the oil. The finished sauce will be yellow, coarse because of the garlic, and a bit thinner than regular mayonnaise.
Crudites
1 bunch celery, cut in serving-size pieces, blanched in salted water for 1 to 2 minutes; or serve raw
1 bunch baby carrots, peeled and blanched in salted water for 1 to 2 minutes; or serve raw
1 bunch asparagus, steamed until crisp-tender, 1 to 2 minutes depending on size; or serve raw
1 cauliflower, separated into florets and blanched in salted water for 2 minutes; or serve raw
8 or more cherry or plum tomatoes, blanched in salted water for 30 seconds, then peeled; or serve raw
1 fennel bulb, blanched in salted water for 2 minutes, then sliced
8 baby artichokes, trimmed and simmered in salted water with the juice of 2 lemons until tender (base should give when lightly pressed)
1/2 pound haricots verts (French green beans), blanched in salted water for 2 minutes; or serve raw
6 eggs, hard-cooked for 10 minutes, peeled, and sliced
8 to 12 new potatoes, boiled in salted water until tender, then cut in quarters (peeled or not, as you prefer)
8 to 12 baby beets, blanched in salted water for 2 minutes, then sliced or quartered (peeled or not, as you prefer).
Chill crudites before serving. To serve, place sauce aioli in a small dish in the center of a large platter and arrange chilled vegetables around it.
From the July 2001 issue.
A Star-Spangled SpreadSix top Austin chefs set off culinary fireworks with a potluck picnic for the Fourth of July.
Five weeks before the real event, Casa Volpe (Italian for "Fox House"), as Lisa and Emmett Fox of Austin's Asti call their stylish Tuscan-Texan villa outside Austin, was the scene of a pre-picnic photo shoot and sampling fest. As late-afternoon sunlight flooded the covered deck, the chefs began to arrive, bearing great baskets and platters of food. Marion Gillcrist, the chef and a co-owner of La Traviata, brought fresh, creamy Texas mozzarella and a bounty of heirloom tomatoes in shades from crimson to orange to green with yellow stripes. Aquarelle's Jacques Richard, a native of France, showed up with a still life of raw and blanched vegetables and a bowl of the world's most garlicky aïoli. Sam Dickey, the chef and a co-owner of the Granite Cafe, whipped up luscious mashed sweet potatoes infused with maple syrup and cascabel chiles. Will Packwood of Emilia's, who was recently named one of the country's top ten up-and-coming chefs by Food & Wine magazine, reinterpreted five-bean salad with a terrific parsley-thyme-scallion vinaigrette. For their part, the genial hosts prepared grilled lobsters (filled with vegetable slaw in a rainbow of colors) and homemade vanilla ice cream with swirls of puréed fresh peach.
Recipes
Crudites and Sauce Aioli
Five-Bean-and-Red-Onion Salad
Grilled Lobsters With Summer-Vegetable Slaw
Heirloom Tomatoes and Texas Mozarella
Honey-Ginger Applesauce
Mashed Maple-Cascabel Sweet Potatoes
Peach Swirl Vanilla Ice Cream
Sweet and Spicy Brined Pork Loin
Texas Blueberry Shortcake
