Lebanese Garlic Sauce Enjoying my friends Middle Eastern cuisine reminded me of a wonderful garlic sauce we love to keep on hand in the refrigerator.
We first experienced this magical sauce at a Middle Eastern restaurant from which used to pick up the most delectable rotisserie chickens in the Capitol Hill area of Seattle.
At the restaurant, near the rotisserie, someone would always be sitting at a table peeling garlic, PILES of garlic!! This garlic was used to make an amazing thick, garlic sauce they would send along with their rotisserie chicken. We would always buy extra sauce, because it was so good on beef, sandwiches and seafood.
It is also great poured over sauteed greens or added to a marinade for an intense lemon-garlic bump of flavor.
At the restaurant, they would remove the chicken from the rotisserie when you arrived, and place the golden bird, on a piece of foil lined with warm pita bread, and wrap it up. The pita bread would soak up all of the juices from the cooling chicken and become a delectable accompaniment to the dinner. Here is our version of this delicious dinner, with modifications to the Splendid Market Roasted Chicken recipe (click on the name to read the method and recipe).
Sadly, the restaurant has been closed for years. But we’ve created our own version of their thick garlic sauce. Made in the food processor, it is creamy and intensely flavorful in about 5 minutes!
Ingredients
makes 1 cup of sauce
6 – 8 cloves garlic, peeled, with hard ends trimmed off
Juice of 1 lemon (about 1/4 cup)
1-1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup olive oil
Preparation
Place the garlic cloves, lemon juice and salt in the bowl of a food processer outfitted wth a steel blade.
Process until the garlic is pulverized.
With the blade running SLOOOOOWLY add the olive oil in tiny drizzles and drips. If the oil is added to quickly, it will not incorporate fully and the sauce will be too loose.
Process for about 5 – 8 minutes until thick (think salad dressing thick — not quite as thick as mayonaise). Through the process the sauce may become thinner from the heat of the machine, it will firm up when refrigerated. If you think the sauce looks too thin, add 1/4 of a piece of pita bread and continue blending until the sauce is smooth.
The sauce may seperate when refrigerated — just stir it up before serving. It will last in the refrigerator, sealed for 2 weeks.
We love to serve this sauce, along with hummus and chutney (good quality, store bought hummus and chutney is fine) with a version of the Splendid Market Roasted Chicken. These three dips harmonize to make the perfect dip or topping for the roasted chicken and tender pita.
Here are the modifications we make to our Splendid Market Roasted Chicken Recipe when serving it with the Lebanese Garlic Sauce. Your guests will love dipping warm bits of pita and succulent chicken into the the garlic sauce, hummus and chutney.
Cut an orange into quarters, squeeze the juice into the cavity of the chicken. Sprinkle the orange quarters with salt, pepper and fresh or dried parsley to taste.
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