Miso Basil Aioli

Aioli - I'm a fiend for it and this miso basil aioli has become a firm favvof mine.  My fridge has got so many condiments that I can whip out to make sandwiches/burgers a WHOLE lot better!  Aside from the delicious shop bought ones like heinz ketchup, heinz aioli, sriracha & kewpie mayo I've got some killer sauces from friends.  My buddy Geoff makes this KILLER watermelon hot sauce - his company is Sabarac so any Aussie reading this click on over and hook yourself up.  I've also started working with Cherie of Pepper & Me.  She makes a great selection of rubs, salts and condiments.  The fridge  has a fair few of them on hand to help elevate some meals.

Aside from these shop bought ones you will find loads of pickled goodies like onions, chilis, raisins and watermelon - yep watermelon.  It's SO good and the recipe will hit the site at some point.  Chimichurri is usually kicking about most weeks and an aioli of some form too.  This week we have some miso basil aioli that as you can see was KILLER with some spicy wedges.  If this sounds up your alley then read on friends.

How To Make Miso Basil Aioli

Eggs - it (generally) starts here with aioli, that is unless you are vegan and therefore can't eat eggs - obviously.  Free range are my choice of eggs because well I don't wanna be stuck on top if 100's of people all day so why the hell would the chickens?  Depending upon the application I use 1 or 2 eggs.  Here I am looking for a firmer aioli so I have gone with 2 eggs.  You will see in other recipes of mine I choose just one.  This is when I want a runnier aioli.

Oil - buy local!  I try my best to use local ingredients when cooking and Squeaky Gate Olive Oil is my go to oil in my kitchen.  Made down in Victoria it's a cracking example of good olive oil.  In this particular recipe I have balanced out the olive oil with a little neutral oil like canola.  Nothing wrong with good quality canola oil but generally unless I am making fried chicken it's olive oil all the way.

Basil - A handful.  Now I know this is a bit "eh, how much"? But it's the easiest way to describe it.  I like to eyeball a lot of things when I am cooking to help me speed up the process.  Don't fear I do actually measure everything for these recipes but when it comes to things like basil just grab a handful (minus stalks) and chuck it in.  If I was to be more precise lets go with 15 large leaves.  Tear the basil up before putting in - it will just speed up the blending process a touch.

Miso - I LOVE this stuff.  Fermented soy beans.  The beauty is it's got a great shelf life so when recipes only call for a small amount you don't need to worry about "what the hell am I gonna do with the rest".  Although if like me you will start to find applications pretty easily - Miso Fried Chicken & Miso Butter to name a few.  I'm generally a bigger fan of white miso.  It's a little softer in taste than red miso.

Seasoning - salt, salt, salt.  The key to cooking often lies in salt to lift the flavours.  Just be careful when adding salt to the recipe as miso can be quite salty so you don't want to overload it.  Flaky maldon salt  is my salt of choice.

Honey - blazed smoked chili honey (SO GOOOOOOODDD).  Made here in Australia this beaut adds spice and a smokiness to the recipe.  I can lather this stuff on ANYTHING.  If you aren't fortunate enough to get your hands on some then regular honey and a touch of cayenne would be my substitue.

Citrus - can't have aioli without citrus.  Well, you probably can but I am yet to make one.  Lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit - you get the point.  A touch of lemon adds brightness and acidity to the aioli which really lifts it up.

Miso Basil Aioli Uses

As you can see from the pics wedges is the way forward with these fellas 🙂 BUT there are tons of applications that aioli can be used in.

Sandwiches - imagine some cold roast beef, tomatoes, rocket and grilled onions.  Sounds like the PERFECT leftover sunday roast sandwich to take to work on Monday

Smashed Potatoes - crispy, crunchy, fluffy and garlicky potatoes dipped into this guy - heck yeah!

Fried Chicken - oh man.  I recently did a fried chicken sandwich with a straight miso aioli but now that I think about it all I wanna do is make one with this basil aioli

Burgers - smashed beef, lettuce, bacon etc.  This basil aioli will be UNREAL inside that top bun

Chicken Kebabs - skewered chicken thighs (cut into cubes obviously) with red onion, mixed peppers and grilled on the bbq.  Imagine drizzling aioli over the top - I can!

Alternative Aioli Ideas

Black Garlic Aioli

Simple Homemade Aioli

Chipotle Aioli

Vegan Aioli by Lizzy Briskin of 'Crowded Kitchen'

Green Goddess Aioli by Isabelle Boucher of 'Crumb Blog'

Happy Cooking and Happy Eating Friends!!