Toum – Lebanese aioli
Toum is a strong mayonnaise from Lebanon that is in no way inferior to Spanish aioli. It belongs in chicken shawarma and can also be served as a dip for batata harra.
Meaning of Lebanese garlic sauce
Toum is pronounced“Tuhm” and simply means“garlic” in Arabic. I have already said in other recipes that the Arabs like to keep things simple when it comes to naming.
You’ve probably already guessed it – the name says it all when it comes to the Lebanese aioli variant, because it definitely contains plenty of one thing: Garlic!
Ingredients for the vegan garlic cream
Vegans will jump for joy at the list of ingredients, as this garlic mayonnaise actually contains no egg yolk or other animal products and is therefore vegan.
You will need the following ingredients for the intense dip (the exact quantities can be found at the bottom of the recipe card):
- lots of garlic cloves (approx. 1 bulb)
- Best salt
- Lemon or lemon juice
- Neutral vegetable oil such as sunflower oil or rapeseed oil
I have also made the garlic sauce with olive oil before, but the olive oil had an intense flavor of its own and garlic plays the main role in toum! It would also be the Spanish version, and this is Levantine cuisine after all!
How to prepare toum:
Preparing the sauce is really easy and quick once the garlic has been peeled. I recommend using a hand blender for the preparation. It’s great for pureeing and can also be used directly for emulsifying:
- Peel the garlic.
- Finely puree the garlic and salt with a hand blender or mixer.
- Add half of the lemon juice and mix with the garlic mixture.
- Slowly add a little oil at a time while blending.
- Add the remaining oil drop by drop and continue to mix. Add the rest of the lemon juice, alternating with the oil, until everything is used up.
- When the oil combines with the lemon juice and garlic, the consistency changes and a garlic mayonnaise is created (without any egg).
Toum is a great alternative to tzatziki and the like, especially in summer when sauces and dips are left out on the barbecue table a little longer.
A little tip for peeling garlic:
Toum therefore requires few ingredients and is also really quick to prepare. Peeling the garlic (of which you will actually need a whole bulb for this recipe) takes me the most time. I really appreciate the many life hacks you can find on YouTube:
Simply put the cloves in an empty jar, put the lid on and shake vigorously. After that, the rough part of the shell is definitely off.
What can you serve toum for?
As mentioned in the introduction, toum belongs in a shawarma. But the cream is of course delicious with grilled dishes such as shish taouk, shish kebab or kafta.
What is the shelf life of the garlic cream?
If you have made several portions of toum at once, fill them into sterile jars and seal them airtight. The cream will keep for at least 5 days in the fridge. Keep it well chilled for a few days longer.
I wish you every success in preparing toum and, of course, a good appetite… but remember that your breath will change after eating it and this might disturb other people.
Recipe for Toum – Lebanese garlic cream
Equipment
Ingredients
- 50 g Knoblauchzehen (ca. 1 Knolle)
- 1 TL Salz
- 3 Esslöffel Zitrone
- 250 ml Sonnenblumenöl oder Rapsöl
Zubereitung
- Knoblauch schälen (und, wenn vorhanden von unschönen Stellen befreien).
- Knoblauch und Salz mit einem Stabmixer oder Mixer fein pürieren.
- Die Hälfte des Zitronensafts hinzugeben und mit der Knoblauchmasse vermengen.
- Beim Mixen langsam nacheinander 2 EL Öl hinzugeben.
- Restliches Öl sehr langsam und mit Pausen hinzugeben und währenddessen immer weiter mixen. Den Rest Zitronensaft abwechselnd mit dem Öl hinzugeben, bis alles aufgebraucht ist. Das Öl verbindet sich jetzt dem Zitronensaft und dem Knoblauch. Es entsteht eine Knoblauchmayonnaise.
Notes
Nährwerte
If you adore the garlic bulb, try tzatziki or the juicy lemon chicken with lots of garlic.
