Chervil Mayonnaise
Adapted from Leite’s Culinary and The New Portuguese Table (Clarkson Potter) by David Leite
The original recipe says to use either a regular blender, or hand blender. Because milk is more liquid than egg yolks, expect a bit of splattering, which happened even when I used the relatively small pouring hole in my blender. If you have a small mesh strainer, you could put it over the hole to mitigate that. And wear an apron.
This would certainly work with any other fresh herb. And if you’re interested in the science of this emulsified sauce, and other variations, you can read more about them at the link above.
- 1/3 cup (80ml) cold whole milk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 small clove of garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 3/4 cup (180ml) oil, (I used a mix of half extra-virgin olive oil and colza oil)
- 3/4 cup (5 to 7g) picked chervil leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- Mix the cold milk, lemon juice, garlic, and white pepper in a blender. Whiz on high speed for thirty seconds, until light and frothy. If using a hand blender, make the mayonnaise in a tall glass measuring cup.
- With the blender on high speed, very slowly begin to drizzle in the oil, drop by drop, until it begins to thicken and become emulsified.
- Continue to add the oil, in a very thin stream, until the mayonnaise is thick and smooth. Do not try to make this too quickly; the process of slowing incorporating the oil should take several minutes.
- Finely chop the chervil leaves and add them to the mayonnaise, along with the salt. Taste, adding more salt and lemon juice, if desired.
- Serve the sauce at room temperature. The sauce can be refrigerated for up to one week.