Pimento cheese, pimento cheese… let me count the ways I love you! 1 - grilled cheese with jalapeño slices 2 - on crisp apple slices 3 - smeared on celery sticks 4 - with mayonnaise on a french bread…. and I could go on.
For anyone unfamiliar... pimento cheese is a go-to, trusted, and classic dip in the South. It's consistency varies in thickness. The processed store bought varieties are more like the consistency of a cottage cheese and tend to utilize a lot of mayonnaise for a thinner consistency. Most homemade varieties are chunkier and more dense (and waaaaay more flavorful in my opinion!).
The common thread in all recipes? 1)pimento peppers and 2)cheddar cheese. Southerners love to use it as a dip with crackers and veggies or on a sandwich. Many who grew up in the south may have enjoyed it on slices of humble white bread with the crusts cut off.
Unfortunately, traditional pimento cheese is packed with... you guessed it - cheese! For those who can’t tolerate dairy this will be a lip-smacking alternative for you and satisfy your pimento cheese cravings.
This works really well as a dip for fresh veggies, a salad dressing, a spread for sandwiches or toast, or in any application that you desire a more exciting mayonnaise.
The cayenne in this recipe makes for a moderately spicy mayo. You can customize the spice level by adding a little hot sauce or omitting the cayenne pepper altogether.
This mayo isn’t quite as thick as an average one due to the water contained in pimentos. Instead of adding any thickening agents you can stick it in the freezer for 30 minutes prior to use. Give it a stir after 15 minutes.
Yield: 2 cups
Ingredients:
¼ c light olive oil
1 - 4 oz. jar pimentos
1 garlic clove
1 egg
1T lemon juice
½ t dijon mustard
½ t salt
¼ t cayenne pepper
Hot sauce, optional
¾ c light olive oil
Process:
Place first 8 ingredients in the blender.
Blend on medium high for about 1 minute to ensure ingredients incorporate.
Next reduce blender speed to very low and continuously stream in oil as slowly as possible without interruptions! It should take you about 4 minutes total.
Turn off blender as soon as all oil has been streamed.
Refrigerate immediately and enjoy!
IMPORTANT: Your ingredients must all be room temperature for this to work properly! This is key!
Notes: When emulsification has occurred you will hear less “crackling” sounds. Don’t stop… just continue to stream the oil as slowly as possible until it's all gone. Patience is a virtue with this recipe! If you are using a Vitamix blender, 2 is the speed to stick with throughout.
About This Recipe:
paleo dairy free ketogenic coconut free nut free vegetarian grain free gluten free