Tahini Dressing is simply divine and if you haven’t had the opportunity to convince yourself so far, I wholeheartedly encourage you to do so!
Tahini sauce a staple ingredient, with great popularity especially throughout the Mediterranean and the Middle East culture, is used as a topping (dip, dressing, sauce) for versatile meat and vegetable dishes – shawarma, falafel, salads, souvlaki in Cyprus, lahmajoun in Armenia, or various sandwiches.
The classic tahini sauce is regularly a mixture of tahini (a paste made from sesame seeds) with lemon juice, garlic, and olive oil. Sometimes to make it thinner, is diluted with a little cold water. For grilled meat and vegetables I preferred to prepare tahini sauce with Greek yogurt, as the texture is more creamy, and the taste of grilled staff matches perfectly with this sauce.
Also, tahini paste is widely used in preparing main dishes, like hummus, baba ghanoush, or for various delicious desserts – halva in the Middle East, tahin pekmez (tahini molasses) in Turkey.
Besides the fact that Tahini sauce is totally natural, it is a real treasure for people following a gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan diet.
What is Tahini made of?
Tahini is actually nothing more than toasted and ground sesame seeds. You can easily learn to prepare nutty and creamy tahini at home, with only 3 easy to find ingredients: sesame seeds, oil, and salt! As a result, you will get a thicker or thinner sauce (according to your preferences), perfect for adding to main dishes or in salads. Beyond its simplicity, the secret of this recipe lies in the toasting the sesame seeds – so the paste will get an even more intense aroma.
Sesame paste or tahini is an important source of vitamins and minerals, proteins, and unsaturated fats. It is a very nutritious dip, which improves the health of the body.
How do you make Tahini from scratch?
Making Tahini (sesame paste) at home is very simple and easy. Before you start you should know that for a creamy and smooth sesame paste you need a high-powered blender. Before you will transform the sesame seeds into the paste, I would advise you to toss them gently.
Heat a dry skillet on low heat, add 2 cups of sesame seeds. Try to use hulled seeds, so you will get smoother tahini with a less bitter taste. Stirring constantly toss sesame seeds for about 5 minutes, or until slightly golden color. Cool them to room temperature.
Now transfer cooled sesame seeds in a blender, process on high speed for one minute. Now add 2 tbs of olive oil and blend for another 1-2 minutes until you obtain a creamy consistency. Oil helps to homogenize the paste and make it even more creamy. Store obtained mixture in an airtight jar, refrigerated, for about a month.
How to make Vegan Tahini Dressing?
Today, I chose to prepare a classic tahini sauce with sesame paste. I use to serve it as dressing for salads, dip for grilled, or raw vegetables. Tahini sauce complement perfectly any steak, too. This dressing is prepared quickly and easily, so it helps those who want to make a quick and nutritious lunch. Tahini dressing brings an intense and flavorful taste, distinct and unique, to any dish.
In my family, this Tahini sauce is among the preferences, so I use to make a large bunch and keep it in the fridge. I usually stored ready sauce for about a week in the fridge. Definitely it is not the only dressing that we use in salads but this is my favorite one.
An important ingredient for Tahini sauce is vegetable oil. Choose qualitative olive oil, or in case you didn’t like it bitterness substitute it with any other vegetable oil. For even more aroma I prefer to add toasted sesame oil.
As I told you in my previous post, I have discovered mixing ingredients for sauces and dressings in a jar. The sauce is ready in seconds and the most important with no mess. So take a jar and send all ingredients to it. Start adding ½ cup Tahini and ⅕ cup vegetable oil. To enhance the taste I use toasted sesame oil. Then add 1 tsp dijon mustard, the juice from ½ lemon, and 1 tsp maple syrup. Close the lid and give it a good shake.
Now you can enjoy a rich and creamy, nutty and tangy, wonderful dressing!
Vegan Tahini Dressing
Equipment
- jar
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Tahini
- 1/5 cup toasted sesame oil
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- 2 tsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Take a jar and send all ingredients to it: ½ cup of Tahini, ⅕ cup of vegetable oil ( I use toasted sesame oil), 1 tsp dijon mustard, the juice from ½ lemon ( or less if don’t desire), and 1 tsp of maple syrup. Close the lid and give it a good shake.
