FRED’S GRANDPARENTS, MIRKA AND GEORGES’ FRENCH RESISTANCE MAYONNAISE

by Fred Mora

Fred’s recipe is mayonnaise and you can hear our genuine excitement in the interview -  we were so delighted by this as we had seen the film ‘Monsieur Mayonnaise’ by Fred’s uncle years ago and loved it.

The film is the true story of Fred’s grandfather Georges during the French Resistance in WW2. His spy name was Monsieur Mayonnaise, due to his rescuing and smuggling of children over borders using mayonnaise as his weapon of choice. With artist Marcel Marceau, he discovered that if you put enough mayonnaise on a baguette you would be able to hide documents in it and smuggle it past the gestapo. As the gestapo were fastidious about not getting their uniforms dirty, every time Georges passed a check point he was able to smuggle documents through. The trick was that there needed to be a certain amount of mayonnaise on the baguette - if you passed a certain threshold of it, the guards wouldn’t bother to check it.

Recipe tips:

• The key to this recipe it that it’s not about measuring but about feel. Fred says“It’s ready when it feels ready”

• The ingredients must be at room temperature, so sit the eggs out of fridge for some time

• The simple magic is the egg yolk, some acid (like vinegar or lemon), salt, pepper and oil “if you just had those things you'd be fine, but you also need a friend and a whisk”

• You’ll know it’s good if it resembles thick mayonnaise. “It’ll be a lovely colour, it’ll taste full and whole and there will be tears!”

• You can then make aioli or add tarragon or herbs using this as the base

• Eat with: oeufs mayonnaise, tarragon roast chicken with some nice crisp vegetable, or fish in paper

• Drink with a nice French white wine

gobble up Fred's interview here

*

gobble up Fred's interview here *

ingredients

2 large egg yolks

Salt and white pepper

2 tsp white wine vinegar

1 tsp Dijon mustard (optional)

1 cup light olive oil

lemon juice (optional)

method

1. Ensure all of the ingredients are at room temperature.

2. Place the yolks, seasoning, 1 teaspoon of the vinegar and the mustard (if using) in a medium-sized porcelain bowl and whisk quickly until smooth.

3. Slowly add the oil and the remaining vinegar drop by drop, taking care to whisk continuously in the same direction and at the same speed.

4. As the mixture thickens, the quantity of oil can be increased to a thin trickle.

The mayonnaise is ready when the mixture is thick and glossy.

Adjust the seasoning to taste and if a paler colour is desired, mix in a few drops of lemon juice.

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