If you’ve never had tahini sauce, you are in for a treat! It’s a very popular condiment in the Middle East. It is usually served alongside falafel, but that’s not where the possibilities end! Tahini sauce is great over grilled meats and chicken. It a healthy dip when served with pita bread or vegetables. You can even serve it as a salad dressing! To use as a healthy spread in sandwiches, just reduces the amount of water in the recipe, to achieve a spreadable consistency.
Tahini Sauce
Tahini is the main ingredient in tahini sauce. It can be purchased online, in most health stores, or any Middle Eastern market. But why buy it, when you can easily make tahini yourself? Just follow my easy, two-ingredient recipe. The root word of tahini is the Arabic word “tahin,” which means “flour” or “to grind.” That’s quite a fitting name since tahini is made by grinding sesame seeds with olive oil. Tahini sauce is made with tahini paste that’s been thinned out with a mixture of water, lemon juice, and oil. Other ingredients like garlic, salt, and cumin are also added for flavor.
What Constitutes A Good Tahini Sauce?
Most tahini sauce recipes have basic ingredients that everyone agrees on. But like all recipes, some ingredients are negotiable. For example, my husband, Scott, loves spicy food. When he will be having some, I add extra cayenne pepper. Cumin is a common ingredient, but I’m not partial to cumin, so I use it in moderation. Stirring in a few tablespoons of freshly chopped parsley is a great way to compliment the sauce. Another preference I have is substituting half of the olive oil with sesame seed oil. I think it really enhances the sesame seed flavor. Who knows, maybe you can think of other ingredients to add to take this sauce to the next level?
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Tahini Sauce goes well with falafel, shawarma, salad and more.
- 2/3 cups tahini paste
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 2 T. olive oil
- 2 T. sesame oil
- 3 cloves garlic
- 3/4 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)
- 2 T. chopped Italian parsley (optional)
- Start by adding tahini paste to a jar.
- Add water and lemon juice, and whisk to combine.
- Add both oils and water. You can adjust the water to get the consistency you prefer. Using a garlic press, add the garlic to the tahini mixture.
- Whisk in salt and cayenne (if using); refrigerate until ready to use.
- Serve alongside falafel or grilled meat. Mix with chopped parsley (if using) before serving.
