Another addition to my collection of things to go with crudites, yes. I don't think this is quite as good with corn or potato chips, although pita chips might do. It all began with a recipe on the net that offered a Caesar salad dressing made with smoked oysters.
Smoked oysters are pretty intense. I like oysters and I like smoked, but on their own, they're heavy going. Still, this sounded intriguing and I bookmarked it. When a trivia night came up, it seemed like the thing to do.
No sense in making a mayonnaise from scratch for such a thing, despite the recipe beginning with that – although, sneakily, they didn't mention that that's what you were doing when you tossed egg yolks and olive oil and lemon into a processor or blender. So I started with low-fat mayo and went from there, using what I had around.
It tastes rather like taramosalata, salty-fishy. Fine for fiends like me, but I did stir in the yogurt after I took the original version out of the fridge the next morning and tasted it. And it would be swell with about any smoked fish. I may try sardines next.
All these measurements except the Worcestershire sauce are approximate, and you can wing it like I did. We're not making pie crust here, after all.
1 large garlic clove
1 c. low-fat mayonnaise
2 Tbs. lemon juice
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 can smoked oysters, including liquid from the can
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt, approximate
With the blade running, drop the garlic clove in a food processor and let the garlic get chopped. Stop the machine and dump in the mayo, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce. Whir the mixture, scrape down the sides and give it another run. Add the oysters and their liquid and the black pepper. Process again, scraping down as necessary. (My new machine is larger than my old one and smaller amounts like this seem to take more scraping.)
At this point, I prefer to remove the mixture to a medium bowl. Taste it and see how much, if any, you want to lighten the texture or the taste – it will be fairly stiff. Stir in as much yogurt as you like. Refrigerate, of course.
As written, yields about 2 cups.