20 Recipes with Tahini
Servings: 12 tablespoons
- ⅓ cup (80 grams) tahini made with 100% hulled sesame seeds, light-colored
- ⅓ cup (80 grams) water
- 2 tablespoons (30 grams) lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic peeled and crushed
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Stir the content of your tahini jar with a spoon. It's possible that if you haven't used it in a while, the sesame oils and the sesame paste separate, so giving it a quick stir before using it helps.Pour ⅓ cup tahini into a medium bowl, then add ⅓ cup water, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 clove garlic (peeled and crushed), and ¼ teaspoon salt.
- Whisk for about a minute or until the ingredients turn into a smooth and velvety sauce.
- Taste and adjust the amount of lemon juice, garlic, salt, and water to suit your preferences.
- Serve with hummus and falafel or drizzle on your favorite veggies, salads, grain bowls, and more.
Nutrition information is an estimate for 1 tablespoon of tahini sauce.
TIPS
Tahini: tahini should be light in color, smooth, and creamy but quite runny, not dark, pasty, and gritty. It should possibly be imported from Lebanon or Palestine, with Arabic text on the package, and made with 100% hulled sesame seeds. No other ingredients should appear on the label.
Garlic: to crush the garlic, use the flat side of your knife's blade, pressing down with the palm of your hand. Avoid minced, grated, or pressed garlic because it'll make your tahini sauce too garlicky and grainy.
STORAGE
Make ahead: you can make tahini sauce up to 4 days ahead as it keeps well in the fridge. However, after 24 hours, tahini sauce starts to thicken up, so you might have to add a dash of water to make it drizzle-able again.
Refrigerator: keep in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to 5 days. Stir well before serving it. Also, you might want to add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice or a dash of water after a couple of days to thin it up a little.
Freezer: to freeze tahini sauce, transfer it to ice cube trays and freeze it for up to 6 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
