Beetroot Aioli

The gorgeous summery pink of this delicious mayonnaise can be used to add pizazz to other dishes, especially salads. The stunning colour of this aioli comes from just 80g of cooked beetroot. A tablespoon of this, watered-down with some brilliant Eco-Mil almond cream and a squeeze of lemon juice makes a simply stunning sauce or 'salad cream' for poached eggs on a bed of wilted spinach or mashed avocado making a gorgeous contrast of colour, or simply use as is. On the plate, it is the sort of colour that fills you with joy.

This does not have a strong beetroot flavour and coupled with the sweetness of the roasted garlic, this aioli is delicate and won't overpower other ingredients and can be used to add colour to a dish. For example make a tartar from it and serve with simple fried cod or haddock.

Made with a stick blender, this is simplicity itself, although you will have to cook the beetroot and garlic first, but once this is done, it is made in the blink of an eye.

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RECIPE

Makes around 350 ml

1 whole fresh organic egg

250 ml organic cold-pressed sunflower oil

¼ tsp raw organic honey

1 tsp organic Dijon mustard

3 tbs raw organic cider vinegar

½ tsp Himalayan pink salt

1 bulb of organic garlic

80 g organic beetroot - around one medium beetroot

** 1 cup of Healing Intent

1. Wrap the bulb of garlic in foil and place in an oven heated to 180C and leave for 25 minutes, until soft. Once cooled, carefully remove the softened garlic cloves from the papery skin.

2. Place the beetroot in a saucepan of cold water. Do not trim the root and top as this will encourage the beetroot to bleed. Add some salt to the water and simmer gently for around 50 minutes in a saucepan partially covered with a lid. When cooked, remove from the water to cool. When cooled peel and cut into rough chunks.

3. Use the tall beaker of a hand-held stick blender and add the whole egg. If the yolk breaks, remove and use for something else. Gently add the other ingredients.

5. Making sure the egg yolk stays in the centre of the beaker, place the end of the stick blender directly over the egg yolk, switch on, and slowly withdraw the blender from the beaker, ensuring all the oil is incorporated. If necessary push the blender back in right to the bottom and withdraw gently again until all the vegetables are incorporated into the aioli.

6. Taste the mayonnaise and add an extra tablespoon of cider vinegar if it needs sharpening to your taste. This makes quite a thick mayonnaise. When you wish to use the mayonnaise as a substitute for hollandaise sauce, dilute a spoonful with a little boiling water until you get the consistency you want or make into a 'salad cream' as above.

7. Store in a Kilner jar in the fridge. It should last around 2 weeks.

** Healing Intent: when cooking foods to heal the body it is important to set your intent. The best way to do this is imagine that you are cooking this dish for yourself or for someone you love who is very ill and that this dish is the only thing that will help in their healing. You will find that the way you handle the food will change, and will not only result in a better dish, but you will feel the food actually nourishing your body and spirit.

Comment:

Dear Fiona

The reason to use a whole, unbroken egg yolk is to help with the emulsifying action. By using a broken egg yolk, the fat from the yolk is spread out amongst the other ingredients and the egg white when the blender is first switched on. When I used a broken egg yolk, it did not emulsify properly and the resulting mayonnaise was thin. Hope that helps. :)

Shannon Elizabeth x