Mayonnaise adds a special touch to main courses and side dishes; this is the recipe used to prepare it for the guests at La Vialla.

Put the egg yolks in a small bowl, add the water and flour, stirring well with a wooden spoon until amalgamated. Start adding the olive oil, drop by drop, stirring continuously (use one hand to pour in the drops – literally drops – of oil, while stirring tirelessly with the other). The eggs will gradually thicken and the sauce will look as it should do when finished. When you have incorporated all the oil into the mixture, continue stirring and add a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of lemon juice (our advice is to always taste first, and then add the salt and lemon a little at a time – it’s better to only add a little at the beginning and then more as required). If you like, when the mayonnaise is ready you can sprinkle it with a little pepper.

If the mayonnaise will have to wait for a few hours before being served, add a spoonful of slightly salted, warm water and stir well.

It’s delicious with fish, in sandwiches of various kinds (for example tuna, tomato and capers, or boiled chicken, salad leaves and pickled vegetables), with the addition of a bit of ketchup it’s ready for a prawn cocktail, and so on and so forth – it can be used in thousands of ways.