Toum Garlic Sauce
Toum is a Middle Eastern garlic sauce that is smooth, creamy, and bold. Once you master this easy 4-ingredient recipe, you have a versatile sauce or spread to use with many things from chicken kabobs, kofta, and shawarma to falafel, or fish. You can even toss it in your pasta or use it as a spread for your sandwiches. The sky's the limit!
Servings: 18 tablespoons
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 head garlic
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 lemon juiced
- 1 3/4 cups grape seed oil or sunflower oil a neutral tasting oil
- 4 to 6 tablespoons ice water
Instructions
- Process the garlic. Smash the garlic with the side of your knife, then remove the peels. Optionally, remove the green germ from the center as you go (it can be bitter). Place the peeled garlic and kosher salt in the small bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times until the garlic looks minced, stopping to scrape down the sides. Add the lemon juice and pulse a few times to combine, again scraping down the sides.
- Slowly incorporate the oil. With the food processor on low speed, drizzle in the oil in ever so slowly through the opening at the top. After you've used about 1/4 cup or so, add in about 1 tablespoon of the ice water. Stop to scrape down the sides of the processor bowl.
- Finish, adjust the seasoning, and serve. Keep the processor running and continue to slowly drizzle in the oil, adding a tablespoon of the ice water after every 1/4 cup of oil. Continue on with this process until you have used up the oil entirely. The garlic sauce has thickened and increased in volume (it should look smooth and fluffy). This should take somewhere around 10 minutes or so. Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt and or lemon juice if necessary. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients, including olive oils, honey, jams, and spices.
- For best results, do not rush the emulsification process. Remember to add the oil very slowly as the processor is running, alternating with a little tiny bit of ice water. If your processor does not have a top opening to drizzle the olive oil, still add the oil very slowly, about a tablespoon or so at a time, and run the processor to whip the garlic well. And again, don't forget to add a bit of the ice water as well. Keep whipping the garlic until you have used up all the oil. Alternating the oil with a small amount of water prevents the emulsion from breaking.
- It helps to use a smaller food processor. I used an older version of this one.
- Storage: toum can best be stored in a tight-lid mason jar or container in the fridge for 4 weeks or so. You can also freeze some for later use (do not thaw out, use from frozen). I do prefer the fridge method.
- This recipe is adapted from Maureen Abood’s cookbook Rosewater and Orange Blossoms.
Nutrition
Calories: 189.8kcal | Carbohydrates: 0.6g | Protein: 0.1g | Fat: 21.2g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 14.8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3.4g | Sodium: 129.6mg | Potassium: 6.8mg | Fiber: 0.04g | Sugar: 0.03g | Vitamin A: 0.2IU | Vitamin C: 0.7mg | Calcium: 3.1mg | Iron: 0.03mg
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