This condiment is one of my favorite things to make in the summer, when garlic is fresh and in-season. It's a classic sauce in Lebanon, and fantastic on kebabs and other traditional dishes, but try elsewhere for a nice surprise (I've made some suggestions). The basic recipe is only five ingredients, and I've suggested some ways to spice it up, as usual. It's vegan, so is perfect for people who can't have eggs and are thus missing out on mayo.

Toum

Christian Leue

Servings/Yield

Makes about 4 cups

Category

Condiment

Toum

Ingredients

  • 1 cup of peeled fresh garlic cloves - remove any dark parts (140 grams)

  • 1 tsp fleur de sel or Cancale N.11 (5 grams)

  • 4 Tbsp fresh lemon juice - one large or two regular lemons (60 grams)

  • 4 Tbsp ice-cold water (60 grams)

  • 3 cups high-oleic safflower oil - or other neutral flavored oil* (650 grams)

Directions

  1. In a standard 8-cup food processor mince the garlic and salt, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula. Add two tablespoons of lemon juice and continue to process until the garlic is extremely fine and has increased in volume a bit (I find this takes about 2 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape the sides).

  2. You'll now leave the processor running for the rest of the additions.

  3. Slowly add 1/2 cup of oil, then 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Then 1/2 cup of oil, then lemon juice. You'll be out of juice at this point so switch to the ice water after each addition of oil (it serves a similar purpose here as it does when making tahini sauce). Note, heat is your enemy here, if it's particularly hot in your kitchen, chilling all the ingredients beforehand will help.

  4. Leave the processor running for about a minute after the final addition to fully incorporate.

  5. If storing for later, allow the toum to cool for about 30 minutes, this will prevent condensation from forming which can break the emulsion (meaning the oil will separate out).

  6. Store in tightly sealed containers and exclude air, and it will keep, refrigerated, for at least a month.

  7. The recipe can be halved or doubled, but you'll need to use an appropriately sized food processor.

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