When in France, eat the specialty of the region

Friends who rent a house in France had lunch on aioli day in a little village in the south of France near Arles. The garlicky mayonnaise was the center of attention, but so were snails (below), another regional specialty.

Apparently you get lots of steamed vegetables (including a big potato; potato slathered with aioli!), the snails if you order them, so your plate starts to look like this:

Then you add a big piece of cabillaud, a firm white fish in the cod family.

If you can't get there, steam the fish yourself, grab a few snails from the garden, and pop a big potato in the oven. Here's an instant aioli.

Quick aioli
Makes about 1 cup

1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 cup bottled mayonnaise
Black pepper, to taste
Juice of 1 lemon

1. On a cutting board with the end of a blunt knife, mash the garlic and salt until they form a paste.
2. In a bowl, whisk the mayonnaise until smooth. Whisk in the garlic mixture, pepper, and lemon juice. Taste for seasoning and add more salt or pepper, if you like. Sheryl Julian