I’ve owed you this sunflower seed tahini for a year and a half. Specifically since the lemon tahini crusted tofu recipe.
Ever since that recipe, I had promised myself to write separately the recipe for this unusual version of tahini, because it’s always useful for a sauce, and especially a sauce like this, to have its own recipe, as it can be used on different occasions and as an ingredient in other recipes.
But, as is the fate of many recipes I have in my archive, it remained there in limbo.
Especially because I had promised myself to redo the photos, because these actually didn’t really ‘thrill’ me much. But no, they stayed there in limbo.

It took the Team 😀
To resurrect this recipe… it took the great, unique, and unmatched Light and Tasty Team!
Which lately is becoming the salvation of this blog because it encourages me to write recipes. And it often prompts me to cook them too!, as happened with the potato curry last week. 😊

I have to admit that the somewhat complicated family situation I’m in right now, well yes, sometimes doesn’t trigger much of a desire to cook, and the time I have to write recipes is reduced to the bone. But it’s very true that this weekly appointment with Light and Tasty helps me a lot to find motivation, not to tell myself that “I’ll think about it tomorrow” which I instinctively tell myself quite often. And so… Since today’s ingredient is “seeds,” what better occasion could I have to give this sunflower seed tahini the place it deserves in my recipe book?
I took it out of the archive, and leaving aside everything else I had to do, tic tic tic I sat at the computer to write! (then for new photos that thrill me more… I’ll think about it, one day or another! 💪).

So… tell me: how many of you have already tried to make sunflower seed tahini? Ahhh, good!!!
And those who by chance don’t remember the recipe? Come on, all you have to do is read this recipe!!

👇 Below I leave you the link to sesame tahini, plus a couple of other articles with various ideas for your sauces: 😉👇

Difficulty: Very easy
Cost: Economical
Preparation time: 10 Minutes
Cooking methods: No cooking
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Seasonality: All seasons

65.75 Kcal

calories per serving

Info Close

Energy 65.75 (Kcal)
Carbohydrates 1.81 (g) of which sugars 0.20 (g)
Proteins 1.45 (g)
Fat 6.24 (g) of which saturated 0.65 (g)of which unsaturated 5.31 (g)
Fibers 0.83 (g)
Sodium 0.23 (mg)

Indicative values for a portion of 10 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA^* and FoodData Central^** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.

^* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ^** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov

Ingredients

5.3 oz sunflower seeds
1.8 oz sunflower oil (or corn or sesame oil)

Tools

Food Processor

Preparation

The procedure is the same as traditional sesame tahini: the seeds simply need to be blended (with the oil) until a cream is obtained.
As you know, the tahini recipe already present here on the blog is the one made with sesame seeds soaked in water – a version that was taught to me at the vegetarian and vegan cooking course that I attended – while it is usually made with toasted sesame seeds.
Well, the same applies to this one with sunflower seeds: in fact, it can be produced in three different ways, as I mentioned in the tofu crust recipe: besides toasted seeds and soaked seeds, you can use sunflower seeds as they are, natural, with no procedure: take them from the bag, weigh them, put them in the blender, pour the oil little by little and blend. Voila 😉
Using the blender, the sauce remains grainy (though this depends a lot on the blender, or robot, used). To achieve a ‘smooth’ sauce, you could even grind everything with a mortar, just using a little more patience.
Version with toasted seeds: toasting the seeds is very simple, just put them in a non-stick pan over low heat and stir them either by tossing or using a spoon. They toast in just a few minutes.
Version with soaked seeds: soak the seeds in water for a few hours, then drain and dry them with paper towels or a cloth before blending.
Quick version: Use them as is.
Even for use, the sunflower seed tahini is equivalent to sesame tahini, both as a sauce, spread on crostini or bread, for canapés, appetizers, or snacks, and inside sweet and savory recipes: in shortcrust pastries, cookies, sweet porridges, or sauces like hummus and baba ganoush.
The recipes in which I used my sesame tahini but suggest you try with this sunflower seed one are:
– the cannellini bean hummus
– the eggplant cream,
– in addition to the already mentioned crusted tofu, where I actually also tried a mix of the two seeds. 😉
If you don’t have sunflower seeds at home and don’t want to go out, here are a couple of suggestions:
Organic Sunflower Seeds La finestra sul cielo 250g
Organic Sunflower Seeds Probios 6x300g

Salt-Free Tips

Salt-Free Using oily seeds to flavor in place of salt is one of the tricks I usually recommend to those who need to replace salt, so… adding salt to this tahini would be a contradiction, right? 😃 What I would suggest – if you are still in the transition phase towards low-sodium cooking – is to: prefer the use of toasted sunflower seeds, because toasting enhances their flavor; or enrich the sauce with lemon juice; or make it spicy with a pinch of chili pepper.

Enjoy!

If you are interested in reducing or eliminating salt, always remember to:
▫ Gradually reduce salt, the palate needs to get used to it slowly and should not notice the progressive reduction.
▫ Use spices. Chili pepper, pepper, curry, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, cumin…
▫ Use aromatic herbs. Basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, mint…
▫ Use seeds. Sesame, pine nuts, almonds, walnuts…
▫ Use spicy vegetables or fruit. Garlic, onion, lemon, orange…
▫ Use my salt-free vegetable granulate and gomasio.
▫ Prefer fresh foods.
▫ Avoid cooking in water, prefer cooking that does not disperse flavors (grill, foil, steam, microwave)
▫ Avoid bringing the salt shaker to the table!
▫ Occasionally allow yourself to break the rules. It’s good for the mood and helps to persevere.

If you do not want, or cannot, give up salt:
▫ You can still try my recipes by salting according to your habits.