Lebanese garlic sauce

Spoons · #1 03-10-2002, 04:27 PM

Recipe for this garlic sauce used in Mediterranean cooking. It's like a mayonnaise, but like a paste.
Thanks.

mudbug · #2 03-10-2002, 05:39 PM

Spoons,

Your post is a little vague, I'm assuming you're looking for the recipe and this may be better suited for the "Recipe Exchange" Forum.

In any case, here are recipes for "Lebanese garlic sauce" also known as "Toum"

Lebanese Garlic Sauce

Lebanese Garlic Sauce

Lebanese Garlic Sauce/Toum

Moxiefan · #3 03-10-2002, 08:09 PM

I checked out those recipies. The one that mentioned that it is an extremely addictive sauce is very right. A question, though... do these recipies really work? It is a very mayonaise-like sauce, but these recipies don't include any egg? If it does work, why does it work?

Just curious,
P

Spoons · #4 03-10-2002, 08:17 PM

Sorry for sounding vague.
Thanks for the recipes, Cchiu
I could've done a search myself.
But, want someone to share what they use.
My husbands Lebanese friend would make this sauce and put in on his grilled chicken, unfortunately he passed away.

We recently went to an Eygptian restaurant and they served this with their lamb and beef. Waiter said it was Lebanese. It's a mayonnaisey garlic sauce. And very addictive.

Moxiefan · #5 03-10-2002, 08:45 PM

Spoons,

I, too, am a big fan of this sauce. I'm forever heading off to the late-night falafel stand to get a garlic sauce fix. I did once try to aproximate the food there at home. I'm purely a novice but I thought it came out tasty enough. I made the sauce just like a mayonaise... which is why I asked about the absence of egg. One expects that an egg-less sauce would keep longer. What I ended up with was an aioli, but with lots more garlic (an insane amount of garlic). The local falafel stands serve the garlic sauce on their beef and chicken sandwiches, and also on their "garlic potatoes" which I also tried to aproximate with mixed results: tasty, but not quite like I get at the resto. Home-fried style potato chunks cooked with (agian) lots of garlic, a little cayanne pepper, salt and black tea.

Hmmm... I think I need to go get a falafel,
P

Spoons · #6 03-10-2002, 09:11 PM

Oh my God, you are making me drool. On potatoes sounds so good.
I have to get this sauce wired before we get our new BBQ grill, arriving in a couple of days.
My husband tried to make this sauce (he did not know what he was doing) and it turned out so garlicky, we had garlic breath for the next two days. He put garlic, oil, salt, I think lemon juice together. I had to doctor it up and put lots of mayonnaise. Which he says, it doesn't have mayonnaise, what he remembered from his friend.
Thanks for your story.

I had a falafel yesterday.

Athenaeus · #7 03-11-2002, 06:52 AM

According to a Lebanese friend who is an excellent cook and my husband who has spent many years in Lebanon, the garlic sauce is served -in Lebanon- exclusively with BBQued chicken.

An idea to get rid of the garlic breath is to chew some parsley leaves

Maybe you would like to taste the
Greek Garlic Sauces

marmalady · #8 03-11-2002, 07:22 AM

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but aren't these sauces usually yogurt based instead of mayo based?

mudbug · #9 03-11-2002, 11:23 AM

Spoons,

No problem. In the future, just post that you're looking for a "personally tried and true" recipe from a member here.

Moxiefan,

It works because of "emulsion" and/or "emulsification" which is also how mayonnaise is made.

A mixture of one liquid with another with which it cannot normally combine smoothly — oil and water being the classic example. Emulsifying is done by slowly (sometimes drop-by-drop) adding one ingredient to another while at the same time mixing rapidly. This disperses and suspends minute droplets of one liquid throughout the other. Emulsified mixtures are usually thick and satiny in texture.

So while this sauce is often described as mayonnaise like, it is so because of the emulsion that takes place. Mayonnaise just happens to be one of the most well known results of this process.

Athenaeus is correct with using parsley to combat garlic and/or onion breath. Parsley and basil are very high in chlorophyll which will in most cases, aid in neutralizing it.

Spoons · #10 05-12-2002, 03:57 PM

Finally made the "Toum" sauce last nite.
Totally addicting.
Thanks Cchiu.

mudbug · #11 05-12-2002, 05:05 PM

Oh good Spoons! It's always good to hear positive feedback. I'm always curious about whether someone tries the recipes they are looking for and how they turn out. You've talked me into trying it myself!