Toum

I decided to amp up a sheet pan meal with this Lebanese garlic sauce.

I found a recipe for toum by a Jordanian woman, Rana's Mediterranean Recipes, that looked authentic.  Also easy and few ingredients.

Her posted recipe made way more than I needed, so I did the easy math and cut it in thirds.  It still made a lot.  Even if I had cut it in quarters, it would have been more than four servings the way I consumed it.  I used it for the next meal as salad dressing, then used the rest as garlic oil for cooking greens.

Doing this "smaller" batch, I used the mini food processor.  It was too small for that to be effective, and I switched to the blender.  That worked, so I'm giving blender directions for my scaled-down version.

As an emulsified sauce, you really do need to add the oil slowly.  I didn't go slowly enough, and it separated in the fridge.  If that happens, you can whip it back up at serving time.  The clear portion is still garlic oil and yummy, it just won't have the whipped texture.

*1/3 C peeled garlic cloves
3/4 tsp kosher salt
*1 C neutral oil like canola
*3 Tb lemon juice

1.  Once the garlic is peeled, slice each clove in half and remove the "sprout" germ.  That will keep the sauce from turning bitter.

2.  Combine garlic and salt in a blender, pulsing until chopped into a paste.

3.  Running the blender on its lowest setting, start drizzling in the oil.  Go very slowly at first, a few drops at a time.  Once there is enough substance that you can see the sauce spinning, add a teaspoon or two of lemon juice to aid the emulsion.

4.  Continue alternating a slow stream of oil and teaspoon of lemon juice until all has been added and the mixture is white and fluffy.  It's ok to stop and scrape down the sides, or to let the blender rest for a moment.  If it seems sluggish, turn up the speed a notch, but don't go full speed or the emulsion could break.  This is going to take a minimum of five minutes, and maybe as long as ten.

5.  Pour sauce into a non-reactive container and chill until ready to use.  I recommend glass because of the garlic smell.  I wasn't thinking of that and put it in plastic.  Stir before serving to distribute any solids that may have settled.  Can be used as a dipping sauce, frying oil, or as part of a salad dressing.

Makes one cup

Difficulty rating  :)