Vegan Jalapeno Cilantro Aioli

Saturday we had a late night summery dinner. It was over 90, and there was no way I was turning on the oven for dinner. I came across a recipe for roasted sweet potato cubes with jalapeno cilantro aioli. Because of my egg allergy, I needed to substitute Veganaise for the mayonnaise, and, because I’m Italian, I added a garlic clove to the recipe. It looked delicious, and tasted even better than it looked. Even my very mayo-averse Katie enjoyed it. It came together easily in my food processer. The aioli was intended for the sweet potatoes, but we ended up dipping the asparagus and the chicken in it.

Vegan Jalapeno Cilantro Aioli

1 clove garlic

1 Cup Cilantro, bottom stems removed

1 medium jalapeno, seeds and pith removed

½ Cup Veganaise

1 ½-2 Tablespoons lime juice (1-2) limes

¼ teaspoon salt and several grinds of fresh pepper

Place garlic clove in food processer, pulse a few times. Add cilantro and jalapeno, chop fine. Add Veganaise and blend well. Add lime juice, salt and pepper and pulse until just combined. Taste for seasoning. Refrigerate for at least an hour to let flavors combine. With the addition of a little almond or soy milk, this would make a wonderful salad dressing.

*A couple of hints:

If you hate cilantro, use parsley. You get all the fresh green herby flavor, with out the strong cilantro taste.

Use gloves, or at least, a plastic sandwich bag when you are handling the peppers, because sure enough, you will scratch your nose, or rub your eye, and then you will be miserable.

Microwave the limes for about 30 seconds before you juice them. Then, let your nine-year-old play with them for a few minutes. Limes are notoriously stingy with their juice. Microwaving them and rough handling make more generous.