Lebanese Garlic Sauce Toum
A fluffy cloud like garlic sauce made with just four ingredients blended into a thick white emulsion. Toum is the essential condiment for shawarma, grilled meats and roasted vegetables.
Intensely garlicky Lebanese white sauce that is thick, airy and completely dairy free.
Nutrition per serving
Ingredients
sauce
Instructions
Process the garlic
Remove the green germ from the center of each garlic clove as it causes bitterness. Place the garlic and salt in a food processor and process until the garlic is very finely minced, scraping down the sides frequently. The garlic should form an almost paste like consistency.
Begin the emulsion
With the food processor running, drizzle in the oil in an extremely slow thin stream, almost drop by drop at first. After adding about a quarter cup of oil, add a small splash of lemon juice. This alternating method builds a stable emulsion.
Build the sauce slowly
Continue alternating between very slow streams of oil and small additions of lemon juice. Add a tablespoon of ice water if the mixture begins to look greasy or broken. Do not rush this process as adding oil too quickly will cause the emulsion to break and the sauce will become oily and flat.
Check the consistency
The finished toum should be brilliant white, very thick and fluffy like whipped cream. It should hold stiff peaks when you lift a spoon. If it is too thin continue processing while adding a slow drizzle of oil. If it breaks, start fresh garlic in the processor and slowly add the broken sauce back in.
Rest and store
Transfer the toum to a clean glass jar. The flavor will mellow and become more balanced after resting in the refrigerator for at least one hour. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to one month. The sauce will maintain its thick fluffy texture throughout storage.
Substitutions
Common mistakes
I made this!
Cooked this recipe? Share your photo and inspire others.