Dear garlic lovers, you’re bound to love this recipe.
This light and airy egg-free Lebanese garlic sauce (or toum) can be slathered on with meat, added to pasta or vegetables for garlic flavor, or simply used as a delicious dip. Tip: Make a jar of this sauce and keep it on hand for a quick way to add flavor to your dishes.
Immune-Boosting Properties of Garlic
Whole garlic contains a compound called alliin, which turns into allicin and other sulfur-containing compounds when the garlic is crushed or chewed (which is the reason for its pungent smell and strong taste). Studies show that these compounds help the body to fight against viruses, such as those that cause the common cold or flu.
If you tend to fall sick easily, try adding more garlic to your diet to help boost your immune system. Eating garlic helps reduce the risk of getting sick, as well as how long you stay sick.
Recipe Tips
- Use freshly peeled garlic: Be sure to use fresh, raw garlic that hasn’t been pre-peeled for the best flavor and nutritional value. There are only 4 ingredients for this sauce, so you’ll want those ingredients to shine.
- Alternate olive oil and lemon juice: When drizzling in the olive oil and lemon juice, make sure to do them alternately as directed in the recipe. Start with the olive oil, and when the sauce begins thickening up, add in the lemon juice. Do not add all the ingredients at once or the sauce will not thicken and form. The lemon juice acts as a binder between the oil and the garlic, and alternating juice and oil is essential to making the toum successfully.
- Patience is key: Make sure to slowly drizzle in the oil and juice in thin streams as the machine is running. This gives the oil time to blend well with the garlic in order for the sauce to emulsify.
- Use chilled oil and water: As the machine of the blender or the food processor runs, the temperature tends to increase and may result in the sauce not emulsifying properly. Using chilled water and oil ensure that the temperature of the sauce doesn’t hit up too quickly.
- 1 cup fresh garlic cloves, peeled
- ½ teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
- 2 tablespoons chilled water
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 cups chilled olive oil
- Ground black pepper
- Fresh chopped parsley, for garnish (optional)
- Olive oil, for drizzling (optional)
- Place the garlic cloves and salt in the bowl of your blender or food processor. Blend on low, scraping down the sides as necessary every 15 seconds. Add the 2 tablespoons of chilled water and continue blending until garlic is finely ground.
- Once garlic has reached the finely ground state, with the blender or food processor running on medium speed, drizzle in ½ cup of olive oil in a thin stream through the lid opening. The sauce should thicken up slightly.
- Next, with the machine still running, drizzle in 2 tablespoons of lemon juice very carefully through the lid opening.
- Repeat the above steps with the remaining oil and lemon juice until all the ingredients have been used up, and you have a creamy and thick garlic sauce.
- Serve sauce garnished with ground pepper, fresh parsley, and a drizzle of olive oil.
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Did you try this recipe? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Resources
- Arreola, Quintero-Fabían, et al. “Immunomodulation and Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Garlic Compounds”
Psychiatric Genetics Department, National Institute of Psychiatry, “Ramón de la Fuente”, Clinical Research Branch, Calzada México-Xochimilco 101, Colonia San Lorenzo Huipulco, Tlalpan, 14370 Mexico City, DF, Mexico. Apr. 2015. - Nantz, Rowe, et al. “Supplementation with aged garlic extract improves both NK and γδ-T cell function and reduces the severity of cold and flu symptoms: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled nutrition intervention.”
- Food Science and Human Nutrition Department, University of Florida, Box 110370, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA. Jun. 2012.
Thanks you for this good information. I look forward to trying the garlic sauce.
Best wishes!