Chives and making a chives mayonaise
This time a plant in the spotlight that makes me really happy: chives.
I truly enjoy this easy herb in the spring and summer when it is a coming and going of the bumble bees and bees who hover around the chives flowers. And apart from that the subtle onion flavor is a great addition to almost any dish. How well did mother Nature make this one?
Of course – as it tends to go with most herbs – there are a couple of medical implications to using chives. It is claimed to have done a re-entrance into the kitchen because of the good influence it is claimed to have on our digestion and appetite. Next to that apparently chives helps in burning fat, gives energy, is good against wurms and against coughing.
It’s chock full of vitamin A and K and is also good for (can we all remember?) your skin, eyes and general health.
What can you do with chives in the kitchen? Well the possibilities are almost endless. Finely cut it works really well in salads, ragouts, herb butter, dressings and sauces. Always make sure you add chives at the last minute because if you cook it or fry it there is little that remains of the flavor.
Chives are also really good to combine with parsley and is used as a replacement when there is no parsley around. it works well in dishes with mayonaise or other fatty sauces.
Golden and proven combinations are chives with baked or cooked potatoes and eggs. Use your chives for a change to roll around meat- or vegetable parcels to tie them closed. or when you’re feeling really creative, you can make a little square by braiding the chives strands together and using that to serve something delicious on. If they are too weak to handle than tossing them for a few seconds into boiling water and than straight under the cold running water should do the trick.
Except the stalks you can eat the pretty purple flowers. They are used a lot as garnish but I think they are not valued to their true potential!
We would have liked to share a recipe with the flowers but it turns out to be the wrong season for chive flowers so we will do that another day. For now I’m sharing a recipe for a good chive mayonaise with you. And you can use that with almost anything!
For more recipes with chives
Chive mayonaise
Ingredients
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp of mustard
- 1 tbsp of white wine vinegar
- sunflower oil or mild olive oil
- few handful of chives
- salt
- drizzle of green pepper tabasco you can add ground chili instead if you want
- Break the egg into the container of a stickblender and add the mustard, vinegar and a good bit of the oil. Whizz for a few seconds and add more oil. Continue to do that until it has the right consistency.
- Add the chives and salt and whiz until you like it. Taste if it needs extra salt.
Disclaimer
The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.
8 comments on “Chives and making a chives mayonaise”
Leave a comment »Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
I made mayonnaise with a stick blender for the first time recently. I was amazed at how easy it was.
Now I want some with chives!
Mayo with stick blender rules! Leaves you a lot of time to do other things in the kitchen
I have just been getting into chives this past couple of months and love them. This is such a great mayonnaise full of flavor with both the chives and the mustard, perfect for grilled meats and veg.
The taste of chives becomes even more profound if you let the mayo rest for one or two days in the fridge.
Hi Simone! I saw your post on BlogHer and stopped by to check out your blog. I love it and will be following you on Pinterest!
Thanks so much Thao!
Nice to see you here Tom. Always love your recipes like your fabulous shrimp toast. Good luck with your new life adventure.
Thank you! It’s exciting, challenging and a little scary at the same time when you decide in a radical career change after forty. But even after forty you have to listen to your heart.