Grand aïoli, the traditional Provencal recipe

According to the ancestral origins of olive oil in the Mediterranean, aioli is a sauce that goes well with vegetables, seafood, fish or grilled meat. Ai (garlic) and Oli (oil) make up aioli. The recipe for the great aïoli combines cod, whelks, potatoes, carrots, green beans, hard-boiled eggs and possibly squid.

Ingredients for 6 persons, cooking time 30 minutes, preparation time 30 minutes

• 800 g desalted cod fillets (24 hours in advance)
• 1 l of large whelks
• 700 g small squids cleaned
• 6 small potatoes
• 6 carrots
• 700 g green beans
• 6 eggs
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil

Ingredients for aïoli

• 2 egg yolks
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 50 cl extra virgin olive oil from France
• Juice of half a lemon
• Salt and pepper

Recipe for aöli

Crush the garlic in a mortar with the pestle. Add the egg yolks, a pinch of salt and pepper and the extra virgin olive oil drop by drop, turning with the pestle in the same direction. The aim is to obtain an ointment. After pouring in 4 tablespoons of olive oil, add 1 teaspoon of warm water and the juice of half a lemon and then continue to pour in the rest of the oil very gently.

Trimmings :

Disgorge the whelk for 15 min in cold salted water, rinse several times, then put in a pot of boiling salted water and leave to simmer for 30 min.
Cook the eggs 10 min in boiling water.
Cook the potatoes and carrots in boiling salted water: 15 min for the potatoes and carrots and 10 min for the beans.
Poach the cod 10 min in simmering water. Brown the squid 10 min in a frying pan with olive oil.
Serve warm or lukewarm with the aioli in the mortar.