Lebanese Garlic Sauce: Toum
This traditional Lebanese garlic sauce (or "toum") is packed full of garlicky flavor and spreads as easy as softened butter. Commonly served with shish tawook or even just as a dip for pita bread, if you love garlic this is for you!
Servings: 4 cups
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 cups canola or vegetable oil
- juice of 1 lemon (about 2-3 Tbsp)
Instructions
- Add the garlic cloves and salt to the bowl of a large food processor. Process for about 10 seconds. Stop, scrape down the sides and run for another 10 seconds or so until all the garlic cloves are nicely minced.
- Turn the food processor back on. Through feed tube, start adding ½ cup of oil VERY slowly in a thin stream. It's crucial to add everything very slowly so that the ingredients emulsify into the right texture. If you go too fast, the mixture can break and the oil & garlic wont properly combine.
- After adding the first half cup of oil, slowly add 2 teaspoons of lemon juice. If you feel you need to, you can stop the food processor and scrape down the sides to make sure everything is getting combined. Repeat, alternating remaining oil in ½ cup increments and lemon juice in 2 teaspoon increments until all ingredients have been incorporated.
- The end product should be thick and creamy looking like mayonnaise or softened butter. Transfer mixture to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator. Eat with pita bread, spread on sandwiches, on meat, use for roasting vegetables, the possibilities are endless!
Notes
The garlic flavor in this is very strong, and it's supposed to be! Some recipes call for up to 4 or 5 cups of oil to the same amount of other ingredients, but I find that makes it greasy and not as garlicky. If you want to cut the garlic flavor a little, in a separate bowl mix some of the garlic sauce with a little bit of mayo, greek yogurt or sour cream.
Use a flavorless oil for this recipe. I would not recommend extra virgin olive oil because the taste is too strong, and if olive oil is in the food processor for an extended period of time it gets bitter.
Adapted from Mama's Lebanese Kitchen