After a long hiatus from writing the blog, I have recommitted to creating new entries each week. As a reminder, this blog is an account of my journey reinventing the classic recipes found in Encyclopedia of Jewish Food. Recently, my wife and I launched a new popup restaurant called Fress. Fress is a dining experience that happens every Thursday night at the Wine Expo in Santa Monica where we use our food truck as the kitchen and the Wine Expo tasting room as our dining room. Each week, we offer a new 3 course tasting menu that is paired with incredible wines. Now, I will continue my journey through Encyclopedia of Jewish Food not only with recipes I create for this blog, but also with real live food, on the menu for Fress. I believe the marriage of Fress and The Kosher Bacon Blog will be the perfect way to share a new taste of classic Jewish recipes from Encyclopedia of Jewish Food.
For those of you that have read previous blogs, it is clear that often times the recipe I create is a large departure from the original recipe. This week’s recipe happens to be the exact recipe from the book but applied in a new way. Ajada is a Sephardic garlic mayonnaise. The recipe in Encyclopedia of Jewish Food is simple, incredibly delicious, and one that every cook should know by heart because it is so versatile. Ajada can replace traditional mayonnaise in almost every case, assuming that you enjoy the addition of garlic and fresh lemon to your food. Use it in sauces, dressings, prepared salads, sandwiches, etc. Often times, mayonnaise is overlooked in cooking preparations. A quick glance at the recipe reveals that mayonnaise is simply an emulsion of egg and oil with the addition of aromatics and seasoning agents. Mayonnaise can be used as a binding agent for cooked foods and also to add richness to lean preparations due to its high fat content.
This week at Fress, Ajada will appear in the appetizer course. I will be making salmon tartar with lemon and garlic crostini. I am going to use the Ajada two ways; as a dressing for the tartar and also as the spread on the crostini before it is grilled. I tell you now, that spreading Ajada on a piece of crusty bread and grilling it is a simple, spectacular pleasure!
Below is the recipe. Memorize it and try to use the recipe in ways you have never used traditional mayonnaise before. Come and eat some delicious Ajada this Thursday night at Fress.
Ajada
Makes 1 ¼ Cups
5-6 Cloves Garlic, Minced
1t Kosher Salt
1ea Large Egg Yolk
3T Fresh Lemon Juice
1C Vegetable Oil
Procedure
1. In a blender add the garlic, salt, egg yolk and lemon juice. Blend until smooth.
2. Continue blending and slowly drizzle the oil into the blender in a smooth and constant stream.
3. Serve immediately or chill and reserve.
