We head to the Masumoto Peach Farm to make a Grand Aioli with Mas, Nikiko, and Marcy Masumoto and discuss intergenerational farming, California’s haunting history of Japanese internment camps, and the social power of testimony.

INGREDIENTS

• a clove of garlic

• salt

• 1 egg - we’ll use the yolk

• fun tip! One egg can hold 1 cup of oil so ---

• 1 cup of olive oil

• lemon juice and/or vinegar, red or white

We’re gonna boil: three eggs, romanesco cauliflower, fennel, some yellow potatoes and carrots.

TOOLS:

• A knife and cutting board or mortar and pestle for pounding garlic

• a whisk!

• A medium/large bowl in which to make the aioli

• Two pots (one to boil the veggies and the other to boil eggs)

HERE’S HOW:

Pound the garlic with a pinch of salt until you have a wet paste. Whisk the egg yolk with the pounded garlic in a small bowl - the size matters here: the oil whisks into the egg yolk more readily in a snug vessel. It doesn’t make sense, but somehow a mortar and pestle also works. Begin to add the oil drop by drop, stirring all the while. Drip slowly and stir quickly until the yolk begins to hold the oil and thicken, about ¼ of the way through. Now you can pour the oil in a little quicker, in a stream, but you cannot stop stirring. Find a friend if you’re getting tired. Keep going and at about the ½ cup mark, the emulsion tends to get a little too thick, so add a teaspoon of water. Use all the oil, and then stir in the vinegar and lemon. If the aïoli looks very shiny and bouncy, add a little more water to smooth it out. Taste and adjust.

CREDITS:

PHOTOS BY KRISTINA LORING