Toom – Lebanese Garlic Sauce

This is an essential condiment or spread for Lebanese food. It is a must have for grilled chicken and shawarma, but is also great for fried foods. In Lebanon it is rare to find a table at a restaurant or a sandwich shop that does not have it. People are often surprised to learn that it has no mayonnaise or eggs or potatoes. The garlic and oil alone create the emulsion and give the sauce a light airy texture that spreads like mayonnaise. Here’s how to whip a quick batch. I think the best tool for the job is a hand stick blender, but a regular blender will work well too.

Toom (whipped garlic sauce)

Toom in Arabic just means “garlic”. However, in all traditional Lebanese Shawarma shops or restaurants it is also the name of a pure white whipped garlic-lemon condiment. It is addictive, delicious and goes with so many things from grilled chicken to fried fish to raw ground spiced beef. Toom seems to be popping up here and there in fancy restaurants (I recently saw it served with French Fries at a local restaurant in Houston, a great idea!). The good news is that it is very easy to make in less than 5 minutes. Just be warned, garlic breath is sure to follow. So, I might avoid this on a first date.

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Servings: 1 Cup

Course: Condiment, Sauce

Cuisine: Lebanese, Mediterranean

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 25 gr Garlic about 6 – 10 cloves
• 60 ml Lemon Juice (one large lemon) about ¼ cup
• 6 gr salt about 1 tsp kosher salt
• 200 ml Canola or vegetable oil about ¾ cup

Method

 

1. Put everything in a narrow container and use a hand blender to puree starting with the blade all the way at the bottom of the container and then slowly lift it up as it blends and whips. The mixture will come together in less than 30 seconds and form a smooth pure white emulsion the thickness of mayonnaise, but “fluffier”. Give it a couple of stirs and taste and adjust. It should be lemony, garlic and well-seasoned.
2. Alternatively, this can be done in a regular blender with similar results but depending on the size of the blender pitcher you might need to double the quantities. Just put everything together and blend, no need to slowly drizzle in the oil.
3. Toom will last in the fridge for a good week. Seal it tight if you do not want your fridge to smell like garlic!

Notes

You technically can use olive oil here, but the color will not be as bright white and you might have bitterness in the Toom. It will certainly not be a typical “restaurant-style” Toom. I much prefer Canola or vegetable oil.