“Garlic sauce”
A common garnish for Romanian grilled meats, mici (skinless sausages), barbecued chicken, and other such things. No really need for a recipe here, it’s simply garlic (let’s say 4 cloves) crushed into a bowl (or a mortar) and mixed with a little salt, then beaten well with a drizzle of oil (sunflower usually – olive oil generally isn’t recommended) until you get a chunky paste. You then pour in a little water (about 100ml) and perhaps a little lemon juice (not too much), mix, pour into a serving bowl, and serve. Occasionally I’ve seen people use smantana (sour cream) instead of water to get a thicker, richer sauce. The most important thing, however, is to make sure that either everyone eats it, or nobody eats it!
Not sure if it’s true (nobody seems to know for sure) but the name is said to come from the French “mousse d’ail”.
9 comments:
Hopefully this post isnt too old that I wont get a response! Every time I make this, the sharpness of the garlic is too overpowering. I remember my grandma making this when we did cookout and it never tasted sharp, any chance you could help me figure out what Im doing wrong?
Hopefully this post isnt too old that I wont get a response! Every time I make this, the sharpness of the garlic is too overpowering. I remember my grandma making this every time we had cookouts and it was never sharp tasting. Any chance you could help me figure out what Im doing wrong?
It could be the type of garlic. Most places here now sell Chinese garlic, which seems a bit 'spicier' compared to the old Romanian varieties, which had less of a kick but more of a garlicky flavour. Alternatively, you could try the version with sour cream to soften it. I've even heard adding a touch of honey can help.
Crush the garlic into salt straight away, either with a mortar saltand pestle or with a knife against a chopping board. It will take away the bitterness in the garlic. It's basically what they do when making garlic purée to sell in the shop. It allows you to add a lot more garlic with its strong taste without it becoming too much.
Good tip, Tom. Thanks,
You can also try slicing the garlic and soaking it in cold water before it is crushed.
That should take away some of the sharpness, and also experiment with different varieties of garlic.
Good advice, thank you.
Your are not doing it wrong, this is how Romanians make it. Alternatively you can lower the garlic quantity or use garlic that is more mild.
Try Elephant garlic or roast the garlic before crushing. Roasting makes garlic sweeter.
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