More Than Our Story

Toum (Lebanese Garlic Sauce)

Toum: A traditional Lebanese garlic sauce.

Total Time: 20 Minutes (up to 1 day for best results)

Ideal for Meats and Vegetables

Table of Contents

Inspiration

Toum is an incredible Lebanese garlic sauce. It goes well with all dishes, and because there are no eggs it makes a delicious vegan-friendly, plant-based alternative to mayonnaise. If you’ve ever had shawarma, chances are you’ve encountered this garlic-lover’s dream.

HEART HEALTHY
Toum contains garlic which is a superfood that contains many heart-protective benefits. Garlic is also an allium vegetable, meaning it contains high levels of organosulfur compounds which have been shown to reduce cholesterol and blood pressure. Further, toum also contains no egg yolk unlike other garlic dips, meaning there is less cholesterol - so get dipping.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup, peeled garlic cloves (about 4 garlic bulbs)
  • 3-4 cups of oil (You can use canola oil, vegetable oil, safflower oil, avocado oil, or any other neutral oil – olive oil is not recommended because it has a stronger, more forward flavor)
  • 1/2 cup lemon juice
  • Pinch of sea salt

Preparations

This longer you take preparing the toum the better, trust me it’s worth the time.

  1. Place the peeled garlic and the salt in a food processor and blend until well minced
  2. Add the oil slowly, one tablespoon at a time. Take your time, the final result is worth it.
  3. Once fluffy, alternate between pouring oil and lemon juice.
  4. Looking to spice things up: Add some diced fresh chilli or dried Aleppo pepper flakes.
  5. For best results: Cover with a paper towel, and let set overnight in the fridge.

TIME SAVING TIP:
You want your toum creamy and well-mixed. Once the mixture becomes fluffy, alternate between pouring in small amounts of oil and lemon juice. The entire process should take about 15 minutes.

Tips

  • Great with roasted meats or vegetables.
  • Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
  • You can freeze any unused garlic for later use.
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Daniel

Daniel is an extremely curious person, a wealth of random knowledge and facts. Extremely passionate about a vast array of interests ranging from health to history, science to athletics, everything culinary and the list goes on. Trust us, you would want to be on his team for Trivial Pursuit. Daniel is also years into his battle with brain cancer. He experienced a seizure while on a Zoom call at work in late 2020 and quite literally, his life changed within minutes. After his operation he started to talk about his story but had always known it was more than just him. From then, More Than Our Story became a PROJECT that has evolved into the starting point it is today.

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