I’ve been planning to write the recipe for tahini for quite some time.
Tahini is a delicious sesame sauce that I’ve always read about in cookbooks and knew was available packaged, but to be honest, I was a bit skeptical about it. Until I finally had the opportunity to get to know it, thanks to the cooking course I attended.
Every now and then I return to talk about this wonderful cooking course that taught me many new recipes, which have become indispensable for me.
Tahini is one of these recipes, and it was truly a discovery.
While gathering more information about tahini, I found out that it’s also called tahin or tahini.
I also learned that it’s very nutritious, rich in vitamin E and B and minerals, and contains all the beneficial properties of sesame (which I talked about in this article on oilseeds), it protects the liver and lowers cholesterol. But it’s a rather caloric sauce, so it’s good not to overdo it. 😉
Tahini is known for being used in the making of hummus and baba ghanoush or as a dipping sauce for meats, vegetables, or the well-known falafel.
But one thing I learned from the cooking course is that this sauce can be made in different ways and, if desired, even enriched.
First of all, it can be prepared in the way I propose today, which is the recipe provided to me with the cooking course material, which I cherish dearly after the course ended. It is the method with raw sesame seeds soaked in water. Which is not a very common method as far as I know. In fact, the more widespread version is made with toasted sesame.
The tahini made with toasted seeds is a bit ‘bold’ for me and all of us in the family, meaning it has a flavor that’s a little too strong for us. And yes, we are used to the taste of toasted sesame since we love gomasio so much, but for tahini, we prefer a more delicate taste. It should be noted that the version with toasted seeds is much quicker to make since toasting only takes a few minutes, and this is a detail that sometimes can be important.
Update: I also tried making a sunflower seed version, which is super quick to prepare and very good, a valid alternative if you don’t have sesame seeds. Try it too! 😉
Maybe in the future, I’ll try and write the recipe for the toasted seed version too, but today I want to start with this tahini with raw seeds soaked in water. It’s delicate and very versatile to use in the kitchen.
And I absolutely love it in a sweet version, with jam. Especially blueberry jam. Try it because it’s really worth it!
〰 〰 〰
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Rest time: 2 Hours
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: jar: 1
- Cooking methods: No cooking
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 5.3 oz sesame seeds
- 1.8 oz corn oil (sesame oil would be ideal)
- water (as needed for soaking)
Tools
- Bowl
- Chopper
Steps
Soak the sesame seeds in water for several hours.
👉 The purpose of soaking is to remove the bitter aftertaste of sesame seeds. In my opinion, a bit of bitterness remains, but for me, it is not at all unpleasant, in fact, I like it a lot.
Drain the seeds and dry them with kitchen paper or a cloth.
Place the seeds in the blender jar and blend them, gradually adding the oil.
👉 Some people grind the seeds in a mortar, but I haven’t tried that yet. I’m too satisfied with the blender. The important thing is to blend intermittently to avoid heating the blades and therefore the sauce.
👉 The amount of oil can be varied depending on the desired consistency. The optimal consistency is thick (in fact, in vegan cooking, tahini is used instead of butter), so my advice is to add oil gradually until the desired thickness is reached.
Store the tahini in the fridge in a sealed jar.
For me, it is undoubtedly excellent eaten just like this, spread on sandwiches or crostini, but above all, I like it combined with other flavors.
For example, in a spicy version, with chili, or with the addition of chopped hazelnuts, or decorated with poppy seeds. Absolutely delicious.
And here is the version with blueberry jam, delicious!
And then, tahini gives its best as a base for other sauces. For example, I used it to make a bean hummus that was out of this world (this cannellini hummus)!!
Tips without salt
The original recipe calls for a pinch of salt, but I have no intention of adding it, for me it’s already so flavorful as it is! 😀
If you are interested in reducing or eliminating salt, always remember to:
▫ Gradually decrease salt, the palate needs to adapt slowly and should not notice the progressive reduction.
▫ Use spices. Chili, 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 vegetable granules without salt
▫ Prefer fresh foods.
▫ Avoid cooking in water, prefer methods that do not disperse flavors (grill, foil, steam, microwave)
▫ Avoid bringing the salt shaker to the table!
▫ Occasionally indulge in breaking the rule. It lifts your spirits and helps you persevere.
If you don’t want to, or can’t, give up salt:
▫ You can still try my recipes, salting according to your habits. 😊
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