Best Zankou Chickens Garlic Paste Copycat Recipes

ZANKOU CHICKEN GARLIC PASTE

Steps:

• Mix the instant mashed potatoes with about 1/2 cup water. Depending on the brand, may be a bit more or a bit less. You're going for mashed potato consistency, this is used to give "body" to the sauce, so err on the side of caution and go thick, not soupy.
• Peel the garlic cloves and put them in your food processor. Add the lemon juice and salt. Puree until finely chopped then stream in the canola oil until it looks like a delicious aoili.
• At this point start adding the potato and continue running the food processor until it is all incorporated. Transfer to a covered container.
• Now. Before you panic and think you've gone and added too much potato because of course you tasted it immediately and you're disappointed it tastes so potato-ey, put the container in the fridge. Forget all about it for at LEAST a couple of hours, preferable until the next day.
• Now you can take it out, take a piece of bread and enjoy every delicious garlicky [and hardly discernably potato-ey] bite.

ZANKOU CHICKEN'S LEBANESE GARLIC SAUCE (COPYCAT)

Steps:

• Peel the potatoes and boil in water until soft. Mash and let cool.
• Crush and peel a whole head of garlic. Cut into quarters. Place raw garlic in a heavy duty blender with the salt and lemon juice. Pour a light layer of oil onto garlic. Puree the garlic, salt lemon juice on high and begin pouring a slow steady stream of the rest of the oil through the blender's handle hole until everything has mixed.
• At this point, you'll have extreme garlickiness (new word), which some people like, but for "texturizing" like Zankou's, you'll need the taters.
• Add the mashed potatoes, about 2-3 tablespoons at a time and mix. Continue adding/blending potato until the sauce is mixed well. At some point in this process, you might consider changing blending vessels. After all this work, my blender was starting to think twice about helping me out.
• Transfer to a bowl and allow to chill completely in the fridge. After about an hour, the flavors will blend together nicely and the texture will take on that library paste consistency like Zankou's sauce.

BEST LEBANESE GARLIC SAUCE (BY KAY)

Steps:

• Place ingredients in a blender, blend till smooth & chill for several hrs b4 use to allow the full flavor to develop. Done!
• *Note From Kay* ~ Some do not add egg whites & they pour the oil in slowly so it thickens. I have no patience for that. When I have tried it that way, I could never get my garlic sauce thick. Adding the egg whites is technically cheating, but it works every time. (Kay also said more garlic can be used to suit taste pref.).
• *Note From Me* ~ Altho unable to find Mazola corn oil here, I can happily report that I have now made a half recipe of this sauce using my immersion blender in a wide-mouth glass jar w/a lid so it could be capped, chilled & stored. I used the *Euro Shopper* brand corn oil, Kay's recipe (including the egg whites) + the thin stream addition of the oil method w/excellent results ~ a richly garlic-flavored & thick sauce. I did add some seasoning salt to better match the Icelandic garlic sauce that is sold commercially & very popular to serve w/lamb (& other meats).
• *Note Re Serving Suggestions* ~ Serve chilled or at rm temp: 1) With grilled, marinated or roasted meats (including chicken, kebabs, etc.), 2) With oven-roasted or baked potatoes or 3) As a dip for garlic-lovers, but I would prob opt to add texture for this option w/some bell pepper, red onion or others you might choose. :-).