Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times Sesame tahini, right, has a mild, nutty flavor and a creamy texture. Recipes call for mixing it with grilled eggplant, roasted cauliflower, Swiss chard stalks, tomatoes and winter squash.I love dining out at a Middle Eastern restaurant, but I’d never considered making any of these delicious foods at home. This week, Martha Rose Shulman offers new recipes that use sesame tahini, a paste made from lightly toasted hulled sesame seeds.
It has a mild, nutty flavor and a wonderful creamy (bordering on runny) texture. An essential ingredient in many signature Middle Eastern dishes, among them hummus and baba ganoush, tahini is also the main ingredient in pungent dipping sauces served with falafel, keftes and vegetables.
Here are five ways to cook with tahini.
Baba Ganoush: This signature Middle Eastern dish is made from grilled eggplant puree enriched with tahini and seasoned with lemon juice and lots of garlic.
Winter Squash Puree With Tahini: A sort of sweet-tasting hummus, in which winter squash substitutes for chickpeas.
Roasted Cauliflower With Tahini-Parsley Sauce: This Middle Eastern sauce is traditionally served with falafel and keftes, fish, salads, deep-fried vegetables, or pita bread.
Swiss Chard Stalk and Tahini Dip: If you are making a Swiss chard dish and don’t know what to do with the stems, save them for this luscious and ingenious Middle Eastern appetizer.
Tomato Salad With Turkish Tahini Dressing: This popular Turkish dressing also goes well with steamed vegetables or a green salad.
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14 Comments
Or make sesame cookies (they’re healthy too):
1 cup toasted sesame seeds
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbs. butter, melted
2 Tbs. sesame oil
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
Mix dry ingred. w/ sesame seeds, mix wet ingred.
Bake at 350 until golden
Enjoy!— katie
It is so nice to keep reminding people with the healthier diet of the Mediterranean or Middle Eastern. I hope also people go back to the fresh published article last month giving more details how to make BABA GHANOUG as I gave the basic which Martha Rose Shulman used the other part of garnishing with her other recipe.
To reduce repetitions: Check September 18, 2009 A Baba Ganoush Revelation by Annemarie Conte.
A good reminder for every one concern that this month is the best season for the pomegranates.— NS
Tahini is delicious. I like adding it in my oatmeal and drizzling a little maple syrup. It’s also good drizzled over diced apples.
http://foodfitnessfreshair.wordpress.com/— Grace
If you’re making swiss chard…cook the stems and eat those too! Ok, ok, or save ‘em for another recipe :-)
I adore tahini. It’s versatile in main dishes, side dishes and desserts. For vegans, it provides creaminess. For everyone, it provide yumminess!
I used it on a sauce for a stuffed pumpkin just earlier this week http://www.findyourbalancehealth.com/2009/10/stuffedpumpkin— Michelle @ Find Your Balance
While tahini is indeed tasty, it is also very high in calories and fat. It is a staple in my kitchen but I use it very sparingly.— Jean Weeks
Baba ganouj is so easy and so rich that it’s a summer favorite at our house. We grow the thinner Japanese eggplants, so we can easily make just as much as we can eat in a sitting or two.— Kim
For a snack high in antioxidants, try this “hummugus” recipe. A mixture of tahini, chick peas, and white asparagus will give you a nice alternative to hummus.
http://www.medpie.com/nutrition/opinion/hummugus.html— Robert Latkany, MD
A tahini based recipe from my favorite food blogger: http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/01/warm-butternut-squash-and-chickpea-salad/— DT
Tahini used to be a staple in my kitchen but this year its cost more than doubled making it too expensive to be used in previous quantities. According to a local retailer, there was a problem in its production in the last year, which has affected supplies.
Any suggestions as to where I can get bargain tahini so that I can make the mountain of hummus that I freeze and use for months?— MW
# 9 —- MW
It depends on the area you live in. Find a Middle Eastern store and you will find different sizes and different brands. I do recommend the Lebanese brands because I tried some which expensive for no reason and some get rancid quickly.
I personally prefer the 1lb size and if it is the same money for 2 lb then get two. It is like any oil, seeds get old if you don’t use. If you can’t find any Middle Eastern store then Google mail order might be cheaper too.
http://www.ghossainsbakery.com/index.html
http://www.ghossainsbakery.com/shopping/begin.html
I like Cortas brand name as it is known and very old company better than Zyad. Try the orange blossom water for sweet / syrup that you will hardly find 3-8 oz in a French brand over $8.00.
When I moved to Florida I had a car accident then I went to the public library founded this mail order company and the owner was very nice, I even ordered pita bread too….Hope this help…….
When things are recommended the greed of our food suppliers go crazy with their pricing, hoping some one in the Obama’s administration as I said it before freeze such for today’s economy.— NS
I hope this comment won’t be doubled, because when I submitted vanished? ? ?. SO, here it is.
# 9 —- MW
It depends on the area you live in. Find a Middle Eastern store and you will find different sizes and different brand. I do recommend the Lebanese brands because I tried some which expensive for no reason and some get rancid quickly. I personally prefer the 1lb size and if it is the same money for 2 lb then get two. It is like any oil, seeds get old if you don’t use. If you can’t find any Middle Eastern store then Google mail order might be cheaper too.
http://www.ghossainsbakery.com/shopping/begin.html
I like Cortas brand name as it is known better than Zyad. Try the orange blossom water for sweet / syrup that you will hardly find hardly 3-8 oz in a French brand over $8.00.
When I moved to Florida I had a car accident then I went to the public library founded this mail order company and the owner was very nice, I even ordered pita bread too….Hope this will help.— NS
believe it or not, tahini is heavenly on sushi. when i go to souen macrobiotic restaurant in manhattan, this is what i always do— alex
yogurt + chick peas + tahini + crabapple jelly = my favorite bedtime snack— alice
I make my own Tahini — and make it more fibre-ful by using unhulled sesame. All you have to do is put sesame seeds in a blender and keep blending until the results are smooth and creamy. Yum!— Cynhilde