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Fermented Mayonnaise

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mayo

I love mayonnaise and this creamy home-made variety tastes in my opinion far superior to shop bought ones.  If you use free-range (preferably organic) eggs you also get a completely different colour mayonnaise and grass-foraging chickens have healthier Omega 3 containing eggs. I’m sure you’ve noticed the difference in yolk colours but when you crack an egg from a free range egg, you get a vibrant nearly orange coloured yolk, compare this to a barn coloured egg yolk and you’ll get an insipid pale yellow mayonnaise.

Having used olive oil in the past, I prefer avocado oil, it doesn’t have the overpowering flavour coming through the mayonnaise.  Avocado oil is also high in Vitamin E which is reputed for its health benefits to the skin.  Avocado oil has been used in studies for healing wounds and found particularly useful for those who suffer with psoriasis.

I used to be nervous of making mayonnaise thinking it would curdle or take ages to make but moving towards a whole-food life, I decided to make this healthier swap and I’ve never looked back. This takes me 3 minutes maximum from start to finish and then you can ferment the mayonnaise in the most natural way possible using whey that you can extract from your kefir.

To obtain the whey from kefir watch my YouTube clip

5.0 from 5 reviews
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Fermented Mayonnaise
Author: 
Recipe type: Fermented Mayonnaise
Prep time: 
Total time: 
 
Ingredients
  • 1 cup of avocado oil
  • 2 eggs room temperature
  • Juice from half a lemon
  • ½ a teaspoon of mustard powder
  • 2 tablespoons of whey
  • Pinch of sea salt
Instructions
  1. Add all the ingredients apart (from the whey) to a mason jar
  2. Place a stick blender in the bottom of the jar and blend on full power until the mayo emulsifies and thickens, takes about 1 minute
  3. Stir in the whey
  4. Close the lid on the jar and allow to ferment at room temperature for 5 hours.
  5. Then place the mayonnnaise in the fridge where it will keep for several weeks, although it never lasts that long in my house!

 

Watercress pesto

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pesto

There are so many things I love about this pesto, it’s a powerhouse for nutrition, the colour is amazingly appetising and it pairs up perfectly with so many different dishes.  I love a generous scoop on salmon, a pork chop, chicken or even just with a salad.

“Superfood” usually represents a new trendy food that we all feel we should be eating and are not quite sure why but if I was to quote a superfood mine would be watercress.  More iron than spinach, more calcium than milk and more vitamin C than an orange, it’s packed with health giving properties.  Watercress is also full of antioxidants, it has even been shown to halt cancer development.

I like to add macadamia nuts to my pesto because they contain plenty of healthy monounsaturated fats, they are literally 85% good / nourishing fats.  They also have a really buttery texture when added to this dip.

I make this pesto frequently and store it in the fridge, with a little olive oil drizzled on top it keeps for about 3 weeks.

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Watercress pesto
Author: 
Recipe type: Dip
Cuisine: Dip
Prep time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6
 
A dip to go with meats, fish and vegetables
Ingredients
  • 1 large bag of watercress
  • 1 cup of fresh basil
  • 5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
  • Squeeze of half a lemon
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • ½ cup of finely grated parmesan
  • ½ cup of macadamia nuts
  • 2 tablespoons of lightly toasted pine nuts
Instructions
  1. Lightly toast the pine nuts in an empty frying pan, toss in the pan gently and watch to make sure they don't burn. When just starting to colour remove from heat.
  2. Add all the ingredients to a food processor or use a hand mixer to blend.
  3. Transfer to an airtight container and add olive oil to the top to keep it fresh.
  4. Take a generous spoonful and add to meats, fish or just use with raw or roasted vegetables.