Want to alienate yourself from the rest of the human race? Then oh boy, do I have a recipe for you. This weekend I took on the challenge of attempting homemade aioli. I did a little research online and read about the kind of problems most people come up against when making the garlicky creamy sauce.

The problems arise when the oil is added to the yolks. If the mixture separates and emulsifies, you end up with a funny-coloured bowl of yacky ick. Fortunately, all of this can be avoided if you add the oil a tiny bit at a time. You need heaps of garlic, too, or the special aioli compounds (I’m a whizz with the terminology, I know) with separate and your texture will just be wrong.

Aioli is super-simple to make, it just takes a lot of time. So remember to use loads of garlic – the result will be strong, but you can tone it down with lemon juice and salt – and only add the oil a couple of drops at a time at the beginning. If you’re doing this by hand, your arm will be killing you – but don’t give in!

Don’t be put off by the fluorescent yellow colour when you’re beating the yolks and the oil. Depending on how bright your yolks are – mine are neon-orange – you could end up with anything from a slight hint of yellow to a sauce that resembles a road-safety jacket. Strangely enough, the lemon juice helps tone the brightness down and leaves you with a softer paler hue.

Homemade Aioli

Ingredients

2 egg yolks

6-8 medium-sized cloves of garlic

4-6 tablespoons oil

Fine salt (to taste)

Parsley (to taste)

Lemon juice (to taste)

Recipe

1. Finely mince the garlic cloves and beat them with the egg yolks and a pinch of salt.

2. Add 2 small drops of oil and beat the mixture for around 30 seconds. Continue doing this until you’ve used up half of the oil.

3. Gradually increase the amount of oil you add in between whisking. Never add more than ½ teaspoon at a time.

4. When all the oil has been used up, sprinkle some more salt (start with ½ teaspoon), parsley (start with 1 teaspoon) and lemon juice (start with 1 teaspoon)and beat again. Taste and add more salt, parsley or lemon juice to your preference.

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