We’re just two days into January, so let’s make sure the rest of your month stays as tasty as possible with one of the best Whole30-friendly flavor boosters around: Paleo Mayonnaise!
Unlike the store-bought gunk, Paleo Mayo isn’t made with canola oil or soybean oil – which, as my previous post made clear, are eeeevil. (Read the labels; even most varieties of “olive oil” mayo on supermarket shelves are primarily vegetable-oil-based.)
Update: You can buy Whole30 paleo mayonnaise these days! I love this one from Primal Kitchen and I rarely make my own from scratch these days!
I guess you’ve got no choice: Roll up your sleeves and whip up your own!
Provided you’re not on an egg-free autoimmune protocol–and you’re not a mayo-hater like Mama June–there’s absolutely no reason not to whip up a batch of Paleo Mayonnaise. It’s wonderfully creamy and unctuous on its own, but you can also use it as a base to make everything from deviled eggs and tuna wraps to chicken salads and spicy dips. It’ll elevate everyday kitchen staples like hard-boiled eggs, leftover roast chicken, canned tuna, and crudités. For example, I add a few simple ingredients to my Paleo Mayonnaise to make ranch dressing for my 8-year-old, Big-O. (Don’t even ask. That recipe’s a secret…for now!)
Wanna see how Paleo Mayo is made?
My version requires macadamia nut oil or avocado oil, and it takes a bit of elbow grease, but it produces a creamy, flavorful, and stable emulsion that I’m sure you’ll dig. If you use mac nut oil, the mayo will have a subtly nutty complexion, which I love. Click here for a link to the recipe.
Oh, and I have a video, too:
Folks at my cooking demo at last year’s PaleoFX conference saw me make mayo a slightly different way (with an immersion blender and some condiment squeeze bottles!), but that just goes to show that there’s more than one way to make Paleo Mayonnaise.
For instance, my gal Melissa Joulwan, author of Well Fed and the super-blogger behind The Clothes Make the Girl, makes a great mayo with light olive oil and a blender. Check out her recipe and video here. Want one more? The ever-inspirational Sarah Fragoso of Everyday Paleo has a recipe and video over here.
UPDATE: My mind was blown after watching this video from The Food Lab, where J. Kenji Lopez-Alt shows you how to make fool-proof mayo with an immersion blender in less than 2 minutes.
These days, the only way I make mayo is with my handy dandy immersion blender. Watch this Periscope video to see how I blend up mayo in a jiffy!
But what if mid-way through whisking/blending/processing your mayonnaise…it breaks? Ai ya! In a blink of an eye, your thick creamy sauce is now a thin, curdled, oily disaster. Can it be saved?
Wipe away those tears! All’s not lost: Just follow these tips or watch this video to learn how to fix your broken mayonnaise. See? Problem solved.
So now that you’ve got a stash of mayonnaise, whatchu gonna do with it?
Mayo’s a blank canvas that can be jazzed up with a bunch of different herbs, spices, and acid. The variations are endless, I tell ya!
Here are some ideas:
Tartar Sauce = ½ cup mayo + 2 T finely diced cornichons + 1 T lemon juice + 1 tsp Dijon mustard + 1 tsp minced capers
Cilantro Lime Mayo = ½ cup mayo + 2 T minced cilantro + 1 T lime juice
Curry Mayo = ½ cup mayo + 1 tsp curry powder + 1 T lime juice
Smoky Mayo = ½ cup mayo + 1 tsp smoked paprika + 1 T lemon juice
So…what do like to do with your homemade mayonnaise? Leave your favorite mods in the comments section!
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013) and Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017)!
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