Toum, toum, wonderful toum!

Garlic at its very best!

First of the season garlic from my garden!

Toum is a middle eastern dipping sauce/condiment that contains uncooked garlic, lemon, salt and oil. It packs a punch and is probably not something you'd want to eat on a first date, but it is a delicious addition to everything from bread to roasted chicken - and of course, savoury crepes!

My favourite garlic for toum is green garlic (fresh, uncured garlic) and my favourite variety is Northern Quebec, which we sell at Nature's Way Farm. Northern Quebec has very large cloves and is surprisingly mild when raw, which is why I like using it for toum. 

I usually only have toum on the menu when garlic is in season or when we've got our own garlic on hand (that we've stored). The garlic from China and California is WAY too strong and ends up producing a very hot, bitter and unpleasant toum. 

Traditionally, toum is made in a mortar and pestle and produces a delicious, textured sauce. I make it in the blender for a smoother more cream-like texture. Either way, it's delicious.

Here's the recipe, give it a try. Just remember, it's strong, no speed dating after eating. Enjoy!

Toum:

Ingredients

1 whole head of garlic, peeled (if the garlic is very small, use two heads)

1 tsp salt

juice of one lemon

30 ml (2 tbsp)water

140 ml (1/2 cup + 1 tbsp) grapeseed oil

Directions

1. Place the garlic cloves in a blender with the salt, lemon juice and water. Turn the blender on and combine for 1 minute. Turn the blender off and scrape down the sides. Continue blending until the mixture is smooth.

2. With the blender running, slowly add the oil to the mixture. Don’t pour the oil too quickly or the sauce will separate. Let the blender run for another 3 minutes. You should end up with a sauce that resembles a fluffy, light cream.

3. If you don’t have a blender, the sauce can be made in a mortar and pestle.