Basic Tahini Sauce
- Total Time
- 10 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- ½cup tahini, well stirred
- ¼cup lemon juice (from 2 lemons), more to taste
- ½teaspoon ground cumin
- ½teaspoon salt, more to taste
- 1garlic clove
Nutritional analysis per serving (2 servings)
368 calories; 32 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 12 grams monounsaturated fat; 14 grams polyunsaturated fat; 16 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 10 grams protein; 215 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together tahini, lemon juice, cumin, salt and 6 tablespoons water until smooth and emulsified. Use a rasp grater to finely grate the garlic into the bowl. Stir, taste and adjust salt and lemon as needed. Cover and refrigerate leftovers for up to a week.
- To make Mr. Solomonov's green tahini sauce, blend 1 cup basic tahini sauce with ¼ cup chopped parsley, 2 tablespoons chopped chives, 2 tablespoons chopped dill, 2 teaspoons chopped mint and 2 teaspoons chopped cilantro in a food processor until thoroughly combined. Cover and refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days. Serve as a dip with crudités or thin with 1 to 2 tablespoons water and drizzle over grilled fish, lamb or vegetables.
- To make Japanese sesame dressing, substitute ¼ cup seasoned rice wine vinegar for lemon juice. Omit cumin and salt and reduce water to ¼ cup. Add 2 teaspoons soy sauce, a few drops toasted sesame oil and 1 teaspoon mirin. Whisk together with garlic as directed above. Serve with boiled broccoli or green beans or alongside seared tuna. Or thin with a little water and use to dress a salad of thinly sliced cucumbers.
Private Notes
Comments
I would recommend following Michael Solomonov's original instruction to add the chopped garlic to the lemon juice and salt, whisking in a food processor, and letting those ingredients sit for ten minutes before combining with the other ingredients. I have been making tahini sauce for years and found this simple step to be revelatory; doing that preserves the garlic flavor but mellows the harshness and unpleasant aftertaste that sometimes is present.
yeah I know a lot of recipe writers omit the water in the ingredient list, but I really appreciate it being there--gets my brain mise-en-placed before I start :-)
This is a terrific sauce and I use it on everything -- toast, sandwiches, roasted veggies! But, the quality of the tahini really makes a difference. I didn't know that until I bought some tahini from Seed + Mill, a new place in Chelsea Market that only sells sesame products like tahini and halvah. They grind the tahini from fresh sesame seeds for you -- it's amazing! The only problem is you'll never want to go back to lower quality tahini again!
I add 2 or more large cloves of garlic sliced, microwaved in about 1/4 c. olive oil for maybe 30 seconds. Makes kitchen smell good, helps taste and texture. Pleases garlic lovers (more garlic) and easier on those who can't handle sharpness of raw garlic. Texture also depends on the purchased tahini used (plain sesame paste). Less noise makes us happy, so I stir well and skip food processor.
Use less water to start 1/4 add to taste. I used 6 tbl but I think I would Like it better thicker
I added a little plain yogurt instead of the water, minced the garlic instead of grating it, and added a drop of honey. Turned out very tasty.