Spanish

Alioli (TM6, Egg Version)

Garlic, egg yolk, salt, lemon, olive oil. Streamed through the TM6 measuring cup hole at speed 5 for two minutes. The Spanish emulsion that anchors every tapa board — foolproof, reproducible, restaurant-caliber in three minutes flat.

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Sauce · Condiment · Universal Side
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None (egg-emulsified)
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~250 ml · keeps 3–5 days refrigerated
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5 min + 30 min optional rest for garlic to mellow

The TM6's Foolproof Emulsion

Real Spanish alioli is garlic + olive oil + salt, pounded in a mortar and pestle for 20 minutes, held together by the fructan polysaccharides in garlic and sheer willpower. It is beautiful, primal, difficult. It is also not what most Spanish home cooks make Tuesday through Sunday.

The everyday Spanish alioli — the one on the tapa board, alongside the patatas bravas, on the fideuà — is the egg-stabilized version. Two garlic cloves minced to a paste, one egg yolk, a squeeze of lemon, and 200 ml of mild olive oil streamed in slowly while mixing. The egg yolk's lecithin handles the heavy lifting of emulsification; the garlic provides the flavor; the result is thick, pungent, yellow-white, and ready in three minutes.

The TM6 is the modern answer to this recipe. The measuring cup has a small hole in the center through which oil drips — a built-in flow regulator that solves the classical home-cook problem of pouring oil too fast and breaking the emulsion. At speed 5 with the oil flowing through that hole, the emulsion is physically difficult to break. Pablo's TM6 makes alioli in three minutes, every time, with texture and flavor that hold up alongside any restaurant version.

Ingredients

for ~250 ml · keeps 3–5 days refrigerated

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Everyday

The Base

2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 egg yolk (yolk only — the white is not needed)
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice OR 1 tsp sherry vinegar
200 ml oil (100 ml EVOO + 100 ml neutral oil — grapeseed or avocado)
Optional: pinch of black pepper at the end

Substitution Notes

No TM6? Food processor works — oil dripped through the feed tube over 2 min while the motor runs. Hand-whisk also works with a bowl set on a kitchen towel — slower but produces identical result.
Pasteurized yolk? For immune-compromised guests or expecting mothers: use pasteurized eggs (available at most grocery stores) OR make the mortar-pestle no-egg version (covered under UMAMI-9 when filed).
Broke the emulsion? Rescue: start a fresh egg yolk in a clean bowl. Drizzle the broken mixture into the new yolk slowly, whisking (or running TM6 at Sp 5). The fresh yolk's lecithin re-starts the emulsion.

No Limits

Premium Base

2 cloves Las Pedroñeras purple garlic (Spanish, milder, more complex than commodity)
1 egg yolk from a pasture-raised or farmers market egg (yolk color will be deeper orange — translates to a more vivid alioli color)
1/2 tsp Maldon fine sea salt OR Korean cheonilyeom
1 tbsp fresh Meyer lemon juice OR 1 tsp Vinagre de Jerez Reserva (Pablo ✓)
200 ml oil: 100 ml Arbequina EVOO (Pablo ✓) + 100 ml avocado oil

Variant 1: Alioli Negro (Black Garlic, 🔴)

Replace regular garlic with 3 cloves black garlic (fermented)
Black garlic is sweet, molasses-like, not sharp — completely different profile
Everything else identical
Color: deeper caramel-black instead of ivory
Best with: Ibérico secreto (UMAMI-6), grilled lamb, pork belly

Variant 2: Alioli Quemado (Kamado-Charred Garlic, 🔴)

6–8 whole garlic cloves, unpeeled
Place directly on the dying coals of a kamado (or at the cool edge of a gas grill) for 8–10 minutes until skins are blackened and flesh is soft
Cool, peel (blackened skin slips off), use in place of regular garlic
Pablo's March 8 service pattern — the secreto three-sauce plate
Best with: UMAMI-6 Secreto three-sauce service

Variant 3: Miso Alioli (Spanish-Japanese, 🔴)

Add 1 tbsp white miso to the base before starting the emulsion
Everything else identical
Umami-boosted, slightly saltier — adjust salt down to 1/4 tsp
The Spanish-Japanese axis in a single condiment
Best with: grilled fish (UMAMI-7 whole fish when filed), kamado-grilled vegetables

Variant 4: Saffron Alioli (🔴)

Bloom 1/8 tsp Spanish saffron DO threads in 1 tbsp warm water for 10 min
Add the saffron with its water to the base before the emulsion
Golden-yellow color, floral aromatic
Best with: UMAMI-11 Paella (dollop in the center of each plate), grilled white fish, seafood stew

Mise en Place

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Garlic peeled, ready to drop in TM6 bowl
Egg yolk separated — white discarded or saved for meringue
Salt measured in a small dish
Lemon juiced (or sherry vinegar measured)
Oils measured in a single glass or small pitcher — EVOO + neutral blended together
Empty storage jar ready
TM6 bowl cleaned and dry (water droplets interfere with emulsion)
For 🔴 variants: additional ingredients staged (black garlic cloves, saffron blooming, miso measured, or kamado-charred garlic cooled and peeled)

Method

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TM6 Setup + Garlic Chop

Ensure the TM6 bowl is completely dry. Water droplets interfere with the emulsion initiation — this is the single detail most often overlooked.

Drop 2 peeled garlic cloves into the bowl. Place the lid on.

Set Sp 7 for 5 seconds . The garlic chops fine — near-paste texture.

Scrape down the sides with a spatula. Any garlic stuck to the bowl walls will not be incorporated into the emulsion if left there.

Build the Emulsion Base

Add 1 egg yolk to the bowl (yolk only — the white is NOT used in alioli; save it for meringue, cocktail foam, or discard).

Add 1/2 tsp fine sea salt (or Maldon fine for 🔴).

Add 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice (or 1 tsp sherry vinegar for Spanish axis).

(🔴 variants): if making miso alioli, add 1 tbsp white miso now. If making saffron alioli, add the bloomed saffron + its water. If making alioli negro, the black garlic cloves were already in at the chop step. If making alioli quemado, kamado-charred garlic was already in.

Scrape down the sides to make sure everything is concentrated at the bottom of the bowl near the blades.

Put the measuring cup in its standard lid position. The cup has a small hole in its center — this is the oil-stream flow regulator.

Stream the Oil — Trust the TM6

Set TM6 to Sp 5. Press play.

Immediately begin pouring the oil blend (100 ml EVOO + 100 ml neutral) through the hole in the measuring cup. Aim for a steady thin stream — the hole's small diameter acts as the natural flow regulator.

Total pour time should be 90 seconds to 2 minutes for 200 ml of oil. If the oil pours in all at once too fast, stop, let the TM6 run 10 seconds to incorporate what's already in, then continue. Faster streams are the #1 emulsion-breaking mistake, but with the measuring cup hole it's physically difficult to pour too fast.

As the oil emulsifies, you will hear the sound change — the bowl goes from liquid-sloshing to a thicker, slower sound as the emulsion builds. This is the auditory signal.

When all oil is in, let the TM6 run another 20–30 seconds at Sp 5 to fully homogenize.

Check + Adjust + Rest

Open the lid. Scrape down the sides with a spatula. The alioli should be thick and glossy, holding soft peaks when lifted with a spoon.

If too thin: run Sp 5 for another 20 seconds. Sometimes the final emulsion just needs an extra pass.

If too thick / stiff: add 1 tsp of cold water, run Sp 4 for 10 seconds to loosen slightly.

Taste. Adjust seasoning: 1/4 tsp more salt if flat; 1 tsp more lemon or sherry vinegar if heavy or too pungent; a few extra drops of oil if the garlic is overwhelming.

Scrape into an airtight glass jar. Cover.

For best flavor: refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving. The raw garlic's sharp sulfurous edge mellows over this rest into a more integrated, rounded flavor. For dinner guests who are not garlic-heads, the 30-minute rest is especially helpful.

Timeline

T-0 — Chop garlic Drop peeled garlic cloves into TM6 bowl. Sp 7 for 5 seconds. Scrape down the sides.
T-30 sec — Add base Add egg yolk + salt + lemon juice (or sherry vinegar) to the bowl. Scrape down.
T-0 — Start emulsion Put measuring cup in lid hole position. Set Sp 5. Press play.
T+0 — Pour oil through hole Pour the 200 ml oil blend slowly through the measuring cup hole. Aim for a steady thin stream over 90 seconds to 2 minutes. The hole is your flow regulator.
T+2 min — Check consistency Open the lid. Scrape down. Alioli should be thick and glossy, holding peaks when you lift a spoon. If thin, run Sp 5 another 20 sec.
T+2:30 — Taste + adjust Taste. Adjust: more salt if flat, more lemon if heavy, more oil (30 sec Sp 5) if too pungent.
T+3 min — Transfer to jar Scrape into an airtight jar. Cover. Refrigerate.
T+30 min — First use Optional: 30 min rest in fridge lets the raw garlic mellow into a more integrated flavor. Especially useful for milder-palate dinner guests.