tahini sauce

Tahini Sauce

Tahini can refer to the paste made from ground sesame seed—like a nut butter made with sesame instead of nuts—as well as to the lemony, garlicy, silky-smooth sauce, made from the paste. When you buy tahini at the market, what you’re getting is just the ground sesame seeds. It stays almost forever in the pantry or fridge—I’ve never had it go bad on me. But unlike nut butters, it’s not really eaten as-is.

Tahini sauce, made from tahini blended with garlic and lemon, does have a shelf life. Use it within a week of making it…if you can keep it that long without eating all of it.

Tahini sauce is best known as the stuff one drizzles over falafel, but it’s also great on meats, fish, and vegetables, such as my Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Two Sauces.

Made thicker—meaning with less water—it makes a wonderful dip for pita.

The recipe is super simple.

Combine in a food processor:

• ½ cup tahini paste—I like the flavor of the Joyva brand

• 3—4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

• ½ cup fresh lemon juice, more or less to taste.

• ½ —1 teaspoon salt

• 6 tablespoons ice cold water

Process until smooth. If you want a thinner sauce, add more ice water, a little at a time.

I recommend going light on the garlic and lemon to start. You can always add more, but you can’t take any out. The amounts are subject to your personal taste.