Asparagus Spears with Lemon-Olive Oil Aïoli

Technically speaking, aïoli is nothing more than garlicky mayonnaise—although it’s come to mean any kind of fancy mayonnaise-based sauce. And you can make it, quickly and easily, by mixing crushed or minced garlic, or other flavors, with mayo right out of a jar.
With just a bit more effort, though, you can make homemade aïoli—and the lighter, brighter, more full-flavored results will put the stuff from the jar to shame. A basic recipe would include an egg yolk, oil, a little acid and salt. From there you can enhance it by varying the acid or the oil, or by adding other flavors, such as herbs, minced shallots or (obviously) garlic.

Here we’re using part grapeseed and part olive oil and plenty of lemon juice—try using Meyer lemons if they’re in season—and serving simply blanched asparagus spears for dipping. But don’t limit yourself to asparagus. A homemade aïoli is delicious with all kinds of vegetables—in France it’d even be served with French fries! You can also use it as a sandwich spread or as a sauce, dollopped on top of seafood, poultry or meats.

Serves 6 as an appetizer, with leftover aïoli

1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Kosher salt
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup grapeseed, canola or other neutral-flavored oil
Juice from 1 lemon
Freshly ground white pepper
1 bunch (about 1 pound) asparagus, trimmed
1 lemon, cut into wedges, for garnish

In a blender or a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolk, garlic, mustard and a pinch of salt. Very slowly, drop by drop, add the oils, whisking constantly. Whisk in the lemon juice. Add additional salt and white pepper to taste. Set aside until ready to serve (the aïoli will keep, refrigerated, for 3 or 4 days).

Fill a large bowl with ice water; set aside. Fill a medium skillet with about 1/2-inch of water and enough salt to make the water taste like the ocean. Bring to a simmer over high heat, add the asparagus and cook, turning occasionally and adjusting the heat to maintain a simmer, until the asparagus is crisp-tender, 3 to 5 minutes, depending on the size of the asparagus. Transfer the asparagus to the ice water to cool, then to paper towels to dry.

Place the aïoli to a small serving bowl, set the bowl on a large plate or platter and arrange the asparagus around the aïoli, for dipping. Alternately, arrange the asparagus on a large plate or platter and drizzle with the aïoli. Garnish with lemon wedges and serve.

Note
After about 3/4 of the oil has been incorporated into the aïoli, you can add the remaining oil a little more quickly. If your oil "breaks" and won't come together, set the broken mayo aside and start with a clean bowl or blender with 1 tablespoon of warm water. Slowly, drop by drop, whisk the broken mayonnaise into the water.