Garlic sauce is very popular across the Middle East region! We eat Garlic sauce with grilled chicken, meat, chicken shawerma, and countless other things…
There are different popular versions for preparing Garlic Sauce. In the Levant region, namely Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine, we prepare garlic sauce by adding boiled potatoes to the garlic. This version is widely known as “Lebanese Garlic Sauce” and it is the one I will post today. In Greece and Cyprus, they prepare garlic sauce using bread. Both versions of Garlic Sauce are tasty with grilled chicken and meat! I also know of some who prepare it with cornstarch and water, but I haven’t tried that yet.
Personally, I am a BIG, BIG fan of garlic… if you have been following my blog you would have guessed that by now! I can probably eat garlic with anything. Other than the conventional ways of eating garlic sauce, I particularly enjoy mixing it with Labaneh, then drizzling it with olive oil and dipping it with hot pita or shrak bread… heavenly. For those outside the region, Labaneh is a very popular creamy yogurt-based dairy product, somewhat similar to sour cream, some people in the west refer to it as yogurt cheese. It is easily prepared at home and I’ll make sure to post that in the near future.
Garlic Sauce Recipe:
Preparation time: 10 min Cook time: 15 min
Ingredients:
1 small potato (approximately 170 gram)
6 large cloves garlic
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ cup vegetable oil (corn, sunflower, or canola)
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1-3 tablespoons yogurt (optional and amount used depends on personal preference)
How to make Garlic Sauce:
- Peel and cut the potatoes. Put in pan with water and boil until well cooked.
- Remove potatoes from pan, drain and mash them with a fork. Set aside to cool.
- Peel garlic and place it with the salt in a heavy duty electric blender with a sharp knife. Pulse until the garlic is finely cut.
- Add the oil and lemon juice gradually and pulse with the electric blender between each addition. I usually add the oil and lemon in 4 batches. This gradual addition and the pulsing in-between guarantees a smooth consistency.
- Add the cold, mashed potatoes and pulse. By now you should have a thick, smooth, garlicy paste. For garlic lovers, this could be the finished product and used as is.
- For those who prefer their garlic sauce a little milder, mix in 1 to 3 tablespoons yogurt depending on how strong you want the garlic flavor. The more yogurt, the milder the garlic taste.
Served garlic sauce as a dip with countless things…. but beware, it could be addictive! Garlic Sauce is particularly good served with roasted or grilled chicken and with chicken shawarma.
Hope you enjoyed today’s easy recipe: Garlic Sauce, an authentic Middle Eastern dip. Bon appetite.
Are you a garlic fan? How do you enjoy your garlic most?
اضغط الرابط لقراءة وصفة الثومية بالعربي باللغة العربية