CRUDITéS WITH LEMON-GARLIC AïOLI

Crudités with Lemon-Garlic Aïoli image

Provided by Lulu Powers

Yield Serves 20

Number Of Ingredients 18

For the Aïoli
1 cup mayonnaise
5 garlic cloves, put through a garlic press
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
For the Crudités
1/2 lemon
3 cups button mushrooms, wiped clean with a paper towel
One 1-pound bag peeled baby carrots
2 bunches of radishes
2 red bell peppers, sliced
2 yellow bell peppers, sliced
1 bunch of asparagus
1 bag or box of cherry tomatoes
5 green or yellow zucchini
1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs (optional)

Steps:

1. Mix all the aïoli ingredients in a large bowl and season to taste. The aïoli will keep for 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
2. Rub a little lemon on the mushrooms to prevent them from turning brown.
3. You can make the platter up to a day ahead and store the vegetables in separate Ziploc bags. It's best to blanch the vegetables the morning of the party. (You can blanch the asparagus in boiling water with a teaspoon of baking soda, secured with a rubber band, for 30 seconds. Place the spears in an ice bath and drain-don't leave them in the ice bath or they'll get soggy.) Repeat with the zucchini, blanching it whole, cutting it on an angle to the desired thickness.
4. Arrange the veggies on a platter with a bowl of aïoli and scatter the herbs on top if you like.