Everyone has their own personal favorite burger recipe and preparation, so let’s talk condiments, and not Heinz, although this commercial is amazing. This week’s recipe is for Black Garlic Aioli, a rich, earthy, slightly sweet mayonnaise-like spread with hints of molasses. Obis One Black Garlic is aged under special conditions using heat, humidity and vacuum, which allows the natural sugars and enzymes within the garlic do its own thing. An added bonus is that black garlic is super high in antioxidants. I added just a touch of our Italian Mielbio Chestnut Honey to enhance the aioli’s layers of flavors. The honey’s floral aromatics, along with hints of smoke and leather from the black garlic, make for a harmonized aioli that’s different, addictive and so easy to make. It's a nice treat to store in your fridge and add to salads, deviled eggs, pastas, pommes frites – just about anything! – but this week, try it on your patriotic burger. Happy 4th of July!

Black Garlic Aioli  

6 cloves Obis One Black Garlic
1 teaspoon salt
8 medium egg yolks, room temperature
1 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon Mielbio Chestnut Honey
4 teaspoon lemon juice
black pepper

1. Make a paste with the black garlic and salt by holding the knife at a slight angle, and in a mincing, dragging motion, move your knife across the garlic and salt. The garlic is very soft so this should come together pretty quickly.  

2. Add the garlic paste, egg yolks and honey to a blender (can also use a small food processor or immersion blender). With the blender on high, very, very slowly drizzle the olive oil down the side of the blender cup, until it begins to emulsify and become thick. Once the aioli comes together, add in the lemon juice and continue streaming the oil until it is fully incorporated.  

3. If your aioli starts to ‘break’, i.e. looking more like a vinaigrette than a mayo, hold off on adding any more oil and continue to blend on high. If you’re past the point of no return, empty the aioli mixture into a cup easy to pour from. Add 2 teaspoons of water to the blender, and on high, begin to stream the mixture very slowly back into the blender until you get it to a nice, thick, creamy consistency. If needed, you can adjust the consistency by adding more water in teaspoon increments until you get to your desired thickness.  

4. Once your aioli has come together, empty into a bowl and stir in a few good cranks of fresh ground black pepper.  

Yields about 1 1⁄4 cup