Lebanese Garlic Sauce (Toum)

Serving bowl of Toum garnished with chopped parsley and whole garlic cloves laying around the bowl.

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Toum is a thick and flavorful Lebanese Garlic Sauce perfect for spreading, dipping or using as a marinade. It requires just four ingredients and packs a powerful punch of flavor that garlic lovers will crave!

Course Sauces

Cuisine Lebanese

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 0

Total Time 15

Servings

Calories 5036kcal

Author Alexandria Drzazgowski

Equipment

Food Processor

Ingredients

1 cup garlic cloves peeled
2 tsp Kosher Salt
2 ½ cups neutral oil I used avocado
¼ cup lemon juice

Instructions

Slice each garlic clove in half lengthwise and remove the green part that may be in the middle. This removes the bite from the garlic and makes for a smoother taste.
Add 1 cup garlic cloves and 2 tsp Kosher Salt to a food processor and process until minced, about 1 minute.
Next add 2 tbsp of oil into the food processor, replace the lid, and run the processor until a paste forms (another 1-2 minutes).
As the food processor runs, continue alternating between ¼ cup lemon juice and the rest of the 2 ½ cups neutral oil, just a little at a time. Continue the food processor running the whole time until both of the liquids are used up and the paste is emulsified fully. This should take about 10 minutes.
Once the sauce is emulsified and your liquids have been used up, serve and enjoy!

Video

Notes

Recipe copyright The Foreign Fork. For educational and personal use only.

Garlic Cloves: You want to use fresh garlic for this recipe as the garlic is the key ingredient.
Neutral Oil: You want to use an oil that has a neutral flavor so it does not take away from the other ingredients. It’s also a good idea to use a light colored oil so your sauce keeps a white color. I recommend avocado oil, grapeseed, canola or vegetable oil. Olive oil is not a good choice for this recipe.
Lemon Juice: The lemon juice plays an important role in making the science behind this recipe work. It acts as a binder and also adds to the flavor. Be sure and use fresh lemon juice.
For the best texture, which should be light and creamy, you really need a food processor. Most blenders and even an immersion blender are not able to whip the ingredients the way a food processor can.
Green sprouts on your garlic may cause a hint of bitterness. If your garlic has any green, take it out.
Do not rush the emulsification process or skip the alternating of oil and lemon juice. There is science behind why this works and if you try to save the lemon juice until the end it may cause your mixture to break.

Nutrition