Toum

Ingredients:

· 1 head of garlic

· Approx 1 cup of a light vegetable oil (I use non-GMO canola oil)

· ½ juiced lemon (this is not required ingredient; it simply adds some extra taste. Can be omitted)

· ½ tsp salt

Method:

1. In your mortar and pestle, place your peeled garlic cloves and salt

2. Using a crushing and beating motion, crush the garlic until it becomes a sticky paste

3. Slowly, add the oil in small increments, mixing your garlic paste in between each addition. It will be glossy as soon as you add oil, then will become sticky again. When it is sticky is when you add more oil.

4. Add a teaspoon of lemon juice with each addition of oil until the garlic has absorbed 3-4 tsp of lemon juice, then just add oil by itself.

5. Continue to add oil, testing until you get to the desired taste – less oil will result in an intense “hot” garlic paste, while adding more oil will mellow the flavour.

6. The consistency should be similar to a very dense mayonnaise.