Andrew Zimmern Adds These Herbs To His 'Foolproof' Aioli
A good aioli on a sandwich or as a dip for your favorite crudities or French fries is a beautiful and savory dream. What exactly is this exotic sounding food? Per House of Nash Eats, aioli is often likened to a fancy, albeit garlicky condiment, that's quite versatile in its uses. Bon Appétit notes that the intense garlic flavor is an homage to aioli's Mediterranean origins and that it can be served up alongside many a dish. When made right, aioli is pretty tasty.
But getting that flavor just right, so that no one ingredient overwhelms the other, can be a little tricky. Enter Andrew Zimmern. Zimmern has built his reputation (and a bit of a cult following) on the bizarre foods he has willingly consumed. Seriously, these foods would make most of us gag — think balut and palolo. But the celebrity chef also makes and eats normal food, just like the rest of us.
In fact, the James Beard award-winning culinary master makes a pretty foolproof aioli that uses simple herbs that make for the perfect pop of flavor to make your taste buds sing. In fact, Zimmern recently shared via social media a video that walks us through, step-by-step, how to make his easy, creamy, and delicious spread with these two herbs.
Tarragon and parsley are key herbs
In the video, Zimmern details how to make his "killer" aioli that he says goes exceptionally well with seafood. He starts with the traditional ingredients used to make the emulsion, including eggs along with canola and olive oils. Zimmern also minces up a few cloves of garlic to maintain the conventional smell and taste of this dip. To give it that tangy flavor, Zimmern uses a dijon mustard and some champagne vinegar — but it's the herbs he adds that have us talking. Zimmern uses tarragon and parsley to layer in an herby depth that adds to the aromatics and the overall taste of his aioli.
Food Print describes tarragon as having a "pungent" and "licorice" flavor similar to that of fennel or anise, while Simply Recipes reveals that parsley is more bitter and helps to "brighten" and balance the overall flavor (in a similar manner that lemon juice does in recipes). And coincidentally, Zimmern finishes off his aioli with a bit of, you guessed it, lemon juice. Zimmern's take on aioli is definitely a recipe you should add to your list the next time you want to impress family and friends.