Toum (Garlic Sauce)

Toum (Garlic Sauce)
Toum (Garlic Sauce)
If there were ever a love song to garlic, Lebanese toum (pronounced TOOM) is the finest aria of them all. Toum, which means “garlic” in Arabic, is pure garlic flavor that is brightened with lemon; you’ll find yourself stirring toum into just about any recipe that calls for minced garlic, as well as its classic Lebanese pairing with grilled meats such as Yogurt Marinated Chicken Skewers. A spoonful of toum elevates any steamed or roasted vegetable, or pasta or grains—or as a dipping sauce for good bread. I’ve even taken to slathering it on my homemade white pizzas before baking. Making toum requires a slow and steady hand to emulsify the garlic and oil in the food processor; consider toum like an aïoli with no egg. There are many methods cooks use to avoid a broken toum emulsion, such as adding an egg white, cooked potato, or cornstarch to the mix. I like my toum made without any of those, which can be replaced with patience—and a little ice water, which helps the emulsion hold.
  • Preparing Time: -
  • Total Time: -
  • Served Person: Makes about 2 cups (420 g)
Middle Eastern Sauce Dip Condiment/Spread Garlic Lemon Juice
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 head fresh garlic (squeeze it: it should be solid and very firm)
  • 1 3/4 cups (420 ml) neutral oil, such as safflower or canola
  • 4 to 6 tablespoons (60 to 90 ml) ice water
  • Carbohydrate 40 g(13%)
  • Fat 39 g(60%)
  • Fiber 1 g(3%)
  • Protein 17 g(34%)
  • Saturated Fat 4 g(19%)
  • Sodium 340 mg(14%)
  • Calories 543

Preparation Peel the garlic cloves and slice them in half lengthwise. If there is a green germ in any of the cloves, remove it to prevent the bitter, burning flavor it imparts. Process the garlic cloves with the salt in the food processor, stopping and scraping down the sides a few times, until the garlic is minced. Add the lemon juice and pulse several times to combine. With the processor on, begin to drizzle the oil in so slowly that the stream turns to a dribble at times; use the oil drip hole in the top of the processor if yours has one. After 1/4 cup (60 mL) of the oil has been added, slowly pour in a tablespoon (15 mL) of the ice water. Continue slowly drizzling in the oil and slowly adding a tablespoon of ice water after every 1/4 cup (60 mL) of oil until the sauce is thickened and all of the oil has been incorporated. This takes about 7 minutes. The sauce will be slightly thick, with some body, but still pourable. Store the toum in an airtight container in the refrigerator for several weeks. From Rose Water and Orange Blossoms: Fresh & Classic Recipes from my Lebanese Kitchen © 2015 by Maureen Abood. Reprinted with permission from Running Press, a member of the Perseus Books Group. Buy the full book from Amazon.

Preparation Peel the garlic cloves and slice them in half lengthwise. If there is a green germ in any of the cloves, remove it to prevent the bitter, burning flavor it imparts. Process the garlic cloves with the salt in the food processor, stopping and scraping down the sides a few times, until the garlic is minced. Add the lemon juice and pulse several times to combine. With the processor on, begin to drizzle the oil in so slowly that the stream turns to a dribble at times; use the oil drip hole in the top of the processor if yours has one. After 1/4 cup (60 mL) of the oil has been added, slowly pour in a tablespoon (15 mL) of the ice water. Continue slowly drizzling in the oil and slowly adding a tablespoon of ice water after every 1/4 cup (60 mL) of oil until the sauce is thickened and all of the oil has been incorporated. This takes about 7 minutes. The sauce will be slightly thick, with some body, but still pourable. Store the toum in an airtight container in the refrigerator for several weeks. From Rose Water and Orange Blossoms: Fresh & Classic Recipes from my Lebanese Kitchen © 2015 by Maureen Abood. Reprinted with permission from Running Press, a member of the Perseus Books Group. Buy the full book from Amazon.