Toum or Garlic Sauce is one of the most impor­tant sauces/dips in Mediterranean, and specif­i­cally Lebanese, cui­sine. Like Spanish or Italian aioli but with a lot more bite, this sauce is the per­fect accom­pa­ni­ment to so many dishes, but espe­cially grilled chicken like shawarma or kebab.

It is incred­i­bly gar­lic for­ward, and will absolutely stay with you for hours. But if you’re fine with smelling like vam­pire repel­lant for a while, the fla­vors this sauce imparts are breath­tak­ing, in large part to the spici­ness from the raw gar­lic.

While most aio­lis rely on egg prod­ucts, whether whole or just yolks to help build the emul­sion, toum is tra­di­tion­ally made from oil, gar­lic, lemon juice, and salt.

Throughout my test­ing, I’ve found that using a small amount of the water found in canned chick­peas you can help cre­ate a much more sta­ble emul­sion, while still keep­ing the dish vegan. This opaque, slightly earthy liq­uid is filled with long-chain starches that mimic the qual­i­ties of eggs added to may­on­naise or aioli.

Try exper­i­ment­ing with dif­fer­ent extra vir­gin olive oils when­ever you make this recipe and choose which one works best for you. I love to use a medium to full-bod­ied, spice-for­ward olive oil because I think it stands up well against the pun­gent gar­lic and lemon fla­vors, but I’ve always found that a lighter, del­i­cate oil makes a slightly less bit­ter sauce that is great for fish or veg­gies.

Salsa de ajo (Toum)

5 from 2 votos

Curso: Salsas, DipsTipo de cocina: Mediterráneo, LibanésGrado de dificultad: Mediano

Porciones

10

porciones

Tiempo de preparación

15

minutos

This gar­lic sauce is the epit­ome of Mediterranean and Lebanese cui­sine — a dis­til­la­tion of a few sim­ple ingre­di­ents into an incred­i­bly intense sauce. Perfect with grilled meats, or roasted veg­gies, this sauce has a ton of strong gar­lic fla­vor and a decid­edly pun­gent kick, so be care­ful!

Ingredientes

• 12 clavo de olor en polvo ajo

• 1/4 taza de jugo de limón

• 1/4 taza de chick­pea liq­uid

• 2 tazas de aceite de oliva virgen extra

• 2 cucharadita sal kosher

• 1 cucharadita pimienta negro

Instrucciones

• In a food proces­sor or blender, com­bine the gar­lic, lemon juice, salt, pep­per, and chick­pea liq­uid. 
• Mix the ingre­di­ents on medium speed until the gar­lic is pureed and the mix­ture is frothy. 
• Begin to incor­po­rate the extra vir­gin olive oil by driz­zling it into the bowl or blender carafe while the machine is run­ning. Be patient and driz­zle very slowly to keep the emul­sion sta­ble. 
• Once the oil has been com­pletely com­bined the mix­ture should be light and fluffy and resem­ble may­on­naise or aioli. 
• Taste for sea­son­ing and adjust as nec­es­sary. 
• Store the sauce for up to a week in an air­tight con­tainer in the refrig­er­a­tor.

<b>Notas</b>

• I like to place a fun­nel filled with ice over the top of my food proces­sor and driz­zle the oil through the ice. This helps keep the oil as cold as pos­si­ble to ensure a sta­ble emul­sion.