One of the first things I learnt to make from scratch when I was little was mayonnaise. I loved making it, mam showed me how to do it and although it was nothing like what we would buy in the jars, the sheer fact that I could play with the flavour, made it special. You could, if you want, take the short cut and just do this recipe with shop bought mayonnaise, but there is a certain charm on making the whole thing from scratch, it is a little scary to know how much oil it goes into making mayonnaise, but then, there's plenty of other not so good things added to the jars in the supermarkets and at least you know exactly what it goes into the one you make at home... Anyways, enjoy this one with fish or prawns, as a side dish to your chips, in tuna salad or this fabulous boozy chipotle fish tacos, or as a dip at your next party, either way it is very tasty.
Chipotle chilies start life as jalapeño peppers that had been dried and smoked. They are such a wonderful chili: deliciously smoky and sweet in flavour with a good kick, they are an incredibly fragrant and flavoursome ingredient for any stew, chilli con carne or picadillo. Their adobo version (a rehydrated version cooked in a tomato, onion, white vinager, ancho chili and herbs sauce) is extremely popular in Mexico and it has become the preferred way to use them as they are soft in texture and easier to crush or blend into any dish with the added benefit of the sauce, which is amazingly good and spicy. Buy them in tins like this in our shop and transfer the contents to a jar in the fridge, it will last you for up to a year as long as you are careful to always use clean spoon or folk to take them out and no cross contamination occurs by double dipping into the jar. The great thing about chipotles in adobo is the way you can use only a little bit of them just to add flavour to a dish, or bigger quantities to add heat. It's entirely up to you.
Put the 2 chipotle chilies into the jug of your blender or food processor and blitz them until they are fully crushed.
Crack the egg whole into the chilies making sure no bits of shell fall in.
Add the lime juice, the mustard and salt and blitz everything again.
With the sunflower oil at hand, start the blender or food processor at its lowest speed. Gently take the lid or the funnel part of the lid off the machine and start pouring the oil very slowly, but continuously into the mixture. Keep the blender/food processor going all the time and avoid pouring the oil too quickly or it might split. You will slowly see the mixture thickening and becoming mayonnaise.
When all the oil has been added and the mixture has become the texture of Mayonnaise, taste it for flavour and seasoning. You may add a bit more lime juice if you think the mixture is too thick and a bit more chipotle chili if you want it hotter.
Your chipotle mayonnaise is done! Transfer it to a serving dish or a sterilised jar and keep it in the fridge for up to a week. I love it!
