Toum Food

TOUM

Steps:

• Crush garlic in a mortar and pestle with a generous pinch of salt. Mix in oil a teaspoon at a time until the mixture will absorb no more oil. Stir in the lemon juice. serve at room temperature with Lebanese breads, hummus or Tabbouleh.

TOUM (GARLIC WHIP)

Steps:

• Place peeled garlic and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse the garlic for 30 seconds, scrape down the sides of the bowl, then repeat three more times until garlic is finely chopped.
• Add 2 tablespoons lemon juice and continue processing until a smooth paste forms, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl every 45 seconds or so. You want the wet, finely chopped garlic mixture to end up with a texture similar to mashed potatoes. Pinch it between your fingertips, and it should no longer feel gritty. (If you don't blend the garlic enough at this stage, it won't become fluffy and emulsified later.)
• With the food processor running, start incorporating 1 cup oil, drizzling it in at a slow, steady stream. Once the oil is incorporated, slowly add another 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Repeat this step with another 1 cup oil, then another 2 tablespoons lemon juice. By the end, the mixture should have a fluffy consistency.
• With the food processor running, alternate adding 1/2 cup oil in a slow, steady stream, then 1 tablespoon lemon juice. This should happen twice. Next, with the food processor running, add the remaining 1/2 cup oil in a slow stream until totally incorporated, then do the same for the ice water.
• Once finished, transfer to a lidded container and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Toum will keep, refrigerated, for up to 3 weeks.

TOUM (LEBANESE GARLIC SPREAD)

Steps:

• Put garlic cloves in a food processor with the cutting blade in place. Pulse until smooth. Add salt. Use a spatula to push garlic into the middle of the bowl. Pulse again on low. Use the spatula to push down garlic again.
• Using the drizzle adapter in the food processor, slowly pour in 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice on low speed. Pour in 1 cup oil; spread will emulsify and start to turn white. Turn off the processor and scrape down the sides. Add remaining lemon juice on low speed. Slowly add remaining 2 cups oil, processing until spread is thick and creamy.
• Transfer garlic spread to a storage bowl with a lid and refrigerate until ready to use.

TOUM (GARLIC SAUCE)

Steps:

• Peel the garlic cloves and slice them in half lengthwise. If there is a green germ in any of the cloves, remove it to prevent the bitter, burning flavor it imparts.
• Process the garlic cloves with the salt in the food processor, stopping and scraping down the sides a few times, until the garlic is minced. Add the lemon juice and pulse several times to combine.
• With the processor on, begin to drizzle the oil in so slowly that the stream turns to a dribble at times; use the oil drip hole in the top of the processor if yours has one. After 1/4 cup (60 mL) of the oil has been added, slowly pour in a tablespoon (15 mL) of the ice water. Continue slowly drizzling in the oil and slowly adding a tablespoon of ice water after every 1/4 cup (60 mL) of oil until the sauce is thickened and all of the oil has been incorporated. This takes about 7 minutes.
• The sauce will be slightly thick, with some body, but still pourable. Store the toum in an airtight container in the refrigerator for several weeks.