A simple creamy pumpkin with tahini tahin tahini becomes special with the addition of sesame paste.

Do you know tahini? It’s a sauce made from sesame seeds, originating from the Middle East, used in the West mainly for its nutritional properties.

It is said that tahini is the oldest known condiment; sesame has been cultivated in the East since ancient times. It is thick, with a nutty, sesame-like flavor, very tasty. Naturally, like all seed or nut creams, it’s difficult to eat straight by the spoonful, but it is excellent when included in various preparations.

Tahini is made from toasted sesame seeds, blended with a little oil and a pinch of salt.

Uses for tahini? Try spreading it on whole grain bread with a thin layer of fruit jam. Use it just like you would peanut butter. Perhaps its most well-known uses are in the preparation of hummus and babaganoush.

Very interesting are the nutritional properties: tahini is rich in protein, omega-3 and -6, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus.

You can make it at home (you’ll find the link to my recipe below), or buy it ready-made — I recommend a health-food store, because some tahinis are made from contaminated sesame; check that it contains no preservatives or whitening agents. So rather than an ethnic shop, I recommend a bio/organic shop.

In this case, instead of a drizzle of oil on the soup, I added a nice spoonful of tahini.

See below where I usually use tahini in recipes: