Hello and welcome back to The Stone Soup Cook–I’m so glad you’re here!
Today, I’m continuing my series on the seven foundational sauces of California Cuisine. While there is not a definitive list of foundational or “mother” sauces of California Cuisine, I am positing that they are the following: mayonnaise, vinaigrette, pesto, salsa, basic tomato sauce, Bernaise (or Hollandaise) and chimichurri sauce. Last week, I started by sharing my recipe for a basic mayonnaise. It’s quick, easy to put together and delicious. And in yesterday’s post, I shared my thoughts on aioli, which is a sauce derived from mayonnaise that became a bit of a cliche in the culinary world in the late ’90’s and early 2000’s.
Today, I’m continuing with my exploration of mayonnaise and aioli by sharing a delicious variation on aioli–pesto aioli.
Pesto aioli is comprised of mayonnaise, pesto and a squeeze of lemon juice. You can use prepared versions of both, or make your own using these simple recipes:
Pesto aioli makes a lovely dip for vegetables or an accompaniment to chicken or fish. But–I happen to think it’s best when applied liberally to artisan bread and combined with a combination of fresh-from-the-farm ingredients like spring-mix greens, fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, avocados and slices of fresh buffalo mozzarella cheese:
I made this super-veggie sandwich for Mr. Stone Soup over the weekend and he said that he hadn’t been good enough to deserve such a splendid sandwich. Since he didn’t have the words to thank me, he instead leaned in and gave me a big, sloppy kiss–now THAT’S true love! But was it true love for me or for the sandwich. I may never know 😉
Tune in tomorrow for more adventures with the foundational sauces of California Cuisine.
Until then,
Peace, love and good food,
Keri
