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 have made this three times, and two of those times I forgot to add the water until the tahini/lemon juice rapidly thickened to the extent that it was hard to get it out of the whisk. So I agree with those who would like to see it in the ingredients list! I usually end up adding another tablespoon or two of lemon juice, and with diamond crystal kosher salt, another half a teaspoon of that as well. Delicious!
I will never be without the Japanese variation of this recipe again. I put it on salads, sandwiches and hardboiled eggs, mix it into tuna instead of mayo and use it like a dip. And as long— as I’m anonymous here—spoon it right out of the jar.
Across the Arab world, Tahini Sauce is served with Falafel.
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