# Lebanese garlic paste



## the-boy-nurse (Aug 9, 2010)

So my wife and I are officially addicted to this garlic paste served in a Lebanese restaurant near us. It is straight up fandamn-tastic! Just checking to see if anybody has an Idea of how to make it. Have tried to just puree garlic but its too strong, and the paste is clearly not fried or baked. Slightly thinner than hummus, and pure white. My wife is chiming in over my shoulder as I write that it could be steamed. Haven't tried that yet. Any other ideas? I hope it's not steamed would hate to admit she's right, again.


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

It' should be very similar to the Greek sauce skordalia. Usually made with bread, sometimes almonds get mixed in too.


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## sticky (Apr 16, 2010)

Does it have oil in it? I'm guessing its something similar to a traditional provence style aioli (no not mayo). Usually you take fresh garlic cloves and mash them with a mortar and pestle and then very slowly add extra virgin olive oil while mashing. Some styles use egg yolks, which make the emulsion easier to achieve. You should get a light textured (somewhat airy) garlic emulsion that you can then season with salt. Looks like this:

http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2009/07/aioli_garlic_mayonnaise_recipe.html


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## petalsandcoco (Aug 25, 2009)

Does this garlic paste have an oil base ? When I read that it was slightly thinner than hummus I gathered that it might be that. The reason why I ask is because what I make is similar to a clip ......well here it is : (beats explains the technique)






I make garlic paste (small batches with a bit of lemon juice) and keep it in the fridge.

just a thought.....


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## petalsandcoco (Aug 25, 2009)

Sorry Sticky....we posted at the same time.....same question .....


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

With all respect to Sticky and Chef Petals, it's probably a variation on skordalia (h/t Phatch) rather than aioli.  Skordalia under several different names is common around the Eastern Med, and in Persian and Armenian cuisines too.

Here's how:

Put a cup of cooled, cooked, riced or mashed potatoes (a dry spud like a russet is best) in a bowl.  Alternatively, use a few slices of white bread, crusts removed, soaked in water, and squeezed as dry as you can get them. Or, as another alternative, a mix of potatoes and bread works very well.

Use your chef's knife or a mortar and pestle to convert 8 garlic cloves into a paste.  Add them to the potatoes along with a teaspoon of salt (less whatever you used to make the paste), a 1/2 cup of vegetable oil (such as corn) or extra virgin olive oil, the juice of a lemon.  Combine very well.  Taste for salt and acidity. 

If as is likely, it's both very lemony but not acid enough -- likely -- add some white vinegar. 

Allow the skordalia to set up for a couple of hours at least. 

Note 1:  Extra virgin olive oil will not only impart a distinctive taste, but a light yellow-green color as well.  If what you like is pure white, stick with vegetable oil. 

Note 2:  If you want an extremely smooth spread, use either potatoes or bread and potatoes rather than straight bread.  Contrariwise, all bread will impart a slight texture.   

Note 3 :  Be careful about overworking the potatoes.  Garlic won't prevent them from being overworked.  Overworked is not only paste, it's bad paste. 

BDL

PS.  You could do this as a straight emulstion without potatoes or bread, but it would take so much garlic to hold it together it would be very garlicky indeed.


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## szliao (Aug 2, 2010)

The basic recipe when i looked on the internet is garlic, oil, salt, lemon with something to thicken it with.

The person in the video i was watching suggested using canola oil to make the garlic sauce whiter.

The thickeners i saw were either using a little bit of potato or more likely egg whites to change the texture closer to mayo.


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## petalsandcoco (Aug 25, 2009)

Thank Chef BDL for clearing that up, I was thinking of something different, the recipe sounds wonderful.


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

Sounds to me like toum, a basic garlic sauce of Lebanon. If that's what it is it's actually more akin to aioli than to skordalia. Here's one version; but caution, it is very garlicy. I'd advise cutting the garlic in half the first time. Recipe comes from Hussien Dekmak's _The Lebanese Cookbook_:

2 garlic heads, cloves peeled

1 tsp salt

1 egg white

2 cups vegetable oil

Juice of 2 lemons (or more to taste)

Put the garlic and salt in a blender or food processor and whiz to a smooth paste. Add the egg white and whiz again until smooth. Witht eh motor running, very slowly pour in the vegetable oil in a constant, steady stream until all the oil is ued up and the sauce is the consistency and color of mayonnaise. Add the lemon juice and keep whizing until smooth. Taste and add more if necessary.


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## the-boy-nurse (Aug 9, 2010)

Thanks for the ideas. The paste I am talking about is very garlicky, (is that a word) so two heads of garlic peeled sounds about right, not sure if it is that lemony, but I will try it. It is slightly textured, so I guess I'll have to try both the toum and skordalia. Oh what a plight. Time to stock up on gum. Thanks guys

P.S. should I tell the wife I told you so? That's probably fodder for another forum huh?


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## indianwells (Jan 2, 2007)

It sounds nice but what do you do with it? Flavour soups? A dip for pitta bread? Spread on Bruschetta?


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

>The paste I am talking about is very garlicky, (is that a word) so two heads of garlic peeled sounds about right, not sure if it is that lemony,<

Keep in mind that all of these types of things have household to household variations. So if it's too lemony, cut back. Etc. We are very big on garlic in this house but found two heads to be a bit much. Just saying.

BTW, there's a Turkish version that uses garlic and yogurt that looks and tastes similar.

Indianwells: Yes.

Plus use it to accompany falafel, and zucchini fritters, and atop chicken, and.......


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## chefedb (Apr 3, 2010)

BDL and KY are both on the money. I do not use mortar and pestle.  I puree garlic in mini food processor in salad oil add lemon pinch salt. Then I mix it into potato. Depending on water content of potato I sometime add  soft breadcrumbs. I do not mix potato in processor as it will seize and turn to glue from the starch in potato. . This is basically Greek origin

. KY s version from what I could find out out from a Lebanese friend who asked his wife is the way she does it

Garlic paste  sold in tubes in store is very different usually contains corn syrup and modified food starches.


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## indianwells (Jan 2, 2007)

Thank you KYH!!/img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

_should I tell the wife I told you so? _

Not if you intend staying married. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/tongue.gif

The secret of a long, happy marraige: In any argument, if you are ever right, apologize immediately!


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## grumio (Apr 16, 2006)

BDL - this skordalia is the garlic paste at Zankou Chicken? (SoCal reference)?

Nevermind, just looked it up myself:  yes it is, apparently.


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

_Garlic paste sold in tubes in store is very different ......._

It occurs to me, Ed, that I've never seen garlic paste in tubes. What would it be used for? Especially with all that sweetener added?


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## the-boy-nurse (Aug 9, 2010)

Made the scordalia and it's fantastic, albeit really strong I used a whole head of garlic. KY was right 2 would have been too much. But the vinegar recommendation was spot on. The wife made some veal shawarmas, used the scordalia w/ a little plain yogurt. good stuff. Now i just need to work on homemade pitas or soft lavash bread. The store bought stuff just isn't the same.

Thanks again


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

FWIW, TBN, I had trouble making pita for years, using a variety of recipes. It just wouldn't work for me. Either the breads wouldn't puff, or some would and some wouldn't, or they became hard in the oven, or there was some other problem.

Then I tried the one in Jeffry Alford and Naomi Duguid's _Flatbreads & Flavors: A Baker's Atlas_. Jackpot!

See if you can find a copy of it. If not, I'll try typing out the recipe for you, but it's rather long.

Their recipe, btw, is made with half white and half whole wheat flours, something I'd not seen before. They make reference, too, to the Egyption style, which, they say, is 100% whole wheat.

The soft lavish you buy in the supermarket stays that way because of additives. True lavash is only soft when it first comes out of the oven. As it cools it dries and turns cracker-like. In places like Armenia, they make loads of it that way, and store the dried bread, sprinkling it with water just before use to soften it. Unless you're really good with a rolling pin, lavash is a PITA to make, because it has to be rolled so thinly.


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## bughut (Aug 18, 2007)

Could be TOUM

Hussien Dekmak (Lebanese chef in London) has a recipe in his brilliant restaurant book. Its used as a marinade, but also a dip.

2 peeled garlic heads in a blender with 1 tsp salt.wizz to a puree. Add an egg white and wizz again

With the motor running, slowly pour in  1pint vegetable oil as with making mayonnaise. Should look just like a soft mayo

Add juiceof 2 lemons and wizz again

Its garlic dip heaven. We use it a lot You may have to balance the lemon/salt as with humus

OOPS    SORRY,I JUST REALISED IVE DUPLICATED KYH'S  POST.   Must pay attention. we do use 2 garlic head      never too much, but it is very nippy


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## luvpie (Jun 20, 2007)

That one with the link looks and sounds good but poster in link says it's very yellow and I think I recalled OP saying his desired recipe was very white.


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

_SORRY,I JUST REALISED IVE DUPLICATED KYH'S POST_

Well, you know what they say about great minds......./img/vbsmilies/smilies/thumb.gif


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## giraffic (Jan 16, 2010)

Where I live we have Zankou Chicken I think this is what u want http://www.food.com/recipe/zankou-chickens-lebanese-garlic-sauce-copycat-199352


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## robertwhite (Aug 13, 2010)

Hi..!!

Garlic Paste

10 cloves of garlic, peeled

1/2 tsp. salt, to taste

1 Tbsp. tangy yogurt or yogurt cheese

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice, to taste

Combine the garlic and salt in mini food processor until garlic is minced. Add the yogurt and olive oil and incorporate well. Mix with the lemon juice. Taste and add more salt and lemon juice as desired.


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

The use of yogurt would make that closer to a Turkish version than Lebanese,  Robert. But otherwise they're pretty much the same recipe. I happen to like the flavor that yogurt brings to the paste, and often make it the way you do.


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## the-boy-nurse (Aug 9, 2010)

KYH, Found Flatbreads and Flavors at the library, great book. Will likely buy it. Of course it is a good sign when a book has a James Beard award on the cover. Made some pitas using the recipe in the book. Somewhat inconsistent results in the beginning, got better by the end of the batch. But even the ones that didn't puff completely were still better than any pita I've ever gotten at the store. Thanks a bunch


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

Glad you found it, I really like that book. I had reviewed it, here at Cheftalk, about a year ago. Unfortunately, the Huddler platform doesn't let us link back to things which appeared before we started using it. A shame, cuz we lost a lot of great articles and reviews.

Anyway, I've made a number of breads from that book, and have yet to find one I didn't care for.

If you do decide to buy it, don't forget to link to Amazon directly from the book page here at Cheftalk, so we get credit for it.


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## dalya (Aug 25, 2010)

I've tried other versions but will definitely give this one a go. Thanks


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## siduri (Aug 13, 2006)

Some of you are talking about two heads of garlic - do i get that right?  not two cloves?  that's one lot of raw garlic, enough to keep quite a large number of  people quite a long distance away from you for quite a long time.  Is that what you meant? Something like 200 grams of garlic?? almost 9 ounces?

Just curious.


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

Yes and no, Siduri.

The Lebanese version of this sauce, called Toum, does, indeed, call for two whole heads; not two cloves. And yes, that's a considerable amount of raw garlic, which is why I suggested that even people who like garlic should cut it in half.

But, unless the garlic you buy locally is considerably larger than most, your figures are a bit off. I just tossed two large heads on the scale, and they weighed 110 grams, or 3.8 ounces. Took me four heads to reach 200 grams (206 to be precise), but that still translated as only seven point something ounces.

In Egypt, garlic is called toom, pronounced the same but spelled differently. And there is a very garlicy Egyption sauce that is, perhaps, even stronger than the Lebanese. A typical recipe: Crush 10-15 garlic cloves with some salt until very smooth. Add 1 tablespoon vinegar and mix well. Tess Mallos has a less garlicy version that uses 3-4 cloves mashed with salt, then mixed with 2 tablespoons clarified butter, a teaspoon of ground coriander, and a pinch of chili pepper. In either case, this is used more like a condiment than a sauce the way we normally think of it.

Skordalia is considerably less garlicy than Toum, and is typically made with only 4-5 cloves.


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## siduri (Aug 13, 2006)

Interesting, ky. 

I put a head of garlic i bought this morning on  the scale and there it was, 98 gms.  I hate peeling garlic so i buy it big!


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## dalya (Aug 25, 2010)

Thanks again. Actually i'm from the Middle East and spent 6 years in Lebanon where i went to university. The toom there is out of this world. I was in Brussels for fourth months this year and there was a great Lebanese shawarma shop down the street that served "an out of this world" toom. 

Haven't quite managed to duplicate it yet. Hope this works out!


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

Wow, Siduri. If that's true garlic I need to know the name of the variety, being as it's about twice the size of what I grow or buy locally.

Here in the States, garlic 2-2 1/4" in diameter is classed as "large," and that's the size I strive for.

Another possibility is that, at this time of year, you are buying fresh (i.e., uncured) garlic, and it will weigh more because of the moisture content.


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## siduri (Aug 13, 2006)

I managed to take a picture of it with my skype camera, and managed to post it here. Wow. Didn't think I could do it. I put a one-cup measuring cup for size reference. It's not fresh, but it's not old either, bought it this morning from the guy at the market who grows his own stuff in Fondi, about an hour or so from Rome.

I've seen "elephant garlic" in the states this big, don;t know how good it is - but this is really good. The roots are all still on it, it;s really good.


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## missmusical (Feb 7, 2012)

My favorite use for this is to make pita bread and shish taook (marinated, grilled chicken). Smear the garlic sauce on one side of the pita pocket, mayo on the other, add chicken, lettuce and tomato.....NUMMY.


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## luvpie (Jun 20, 2007)

this entire thread has got me VERY interested.
BUT............
will I still get kissed ;:~\


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