Tahini Sauce
This tahini sauce (tahina) is my go-to accompaniment for many a savoury meal. It’s perfect with roast veg, meats, to drizzle on salads or to use as a dip. It features heavily in my nourishing bowls, and as soon as one jar is finished the next is made.
In This Article
What Is Tahini
Tahini is a paste made from ground, roasted sesame seeds. The seeds may either have been hulled, or remain unhulled before grinding, which produces tahini with distinctive flavour differences. The hulled is my preferred, as it’s much less bitter than the unhulled. The hulled also provides better nutrient absorption with the husk of the seeds removed. This is worth considering when buying, as tahini is rich in calcium and other essential minerals.
Tahini is a staple in many cuisines of the Middle East, North Africa, and The Caucasus. However, it’s now known and loved worldwide so can be found in many countries outside these regions too.
I spoke about tahini at length in my Miso Tahini Dressing recipe so you can pop over to read more about the history and health benefits if you’d like to.
Variety in Tahini Sauce Recipes
Given tahini is used in so many countries around the world recipes can vary greatly. And they definitely do. This version is my family recipe. It’s come straight out of my Nana’s cookbook, into my Mum’s, now mine, and I hope it goes into yours.
I have a lot to thank my Nana for. She was a Maltese woman, who married a Greek (my Papou), they lived in Egypt where my Father was born, and frequently holidayed in Cyprus. With that mix of cultures to draw from, she was a truly incredible cook and one of my greatest influences. I don’t know what she’d think of the internet but I’m quite certain she’d be pleased with people seeing and making her recipes.
The image below is of my Nana’s recipe that was written out by my Mum in her cookbook. I miss them both dearly but love that I can bring all that they taught me to the kitchen at every meal.
Ingredients For This Tahini Sauce
Tahina keeps well in the fridge, so I tend to make double the recipe each time. That way you can pull it out and drizzle it on just about anything to jazz up a meal. It pairs well with many savoury foods, but is exceptional over felafel, roasted veg, and roasted meats.
- Tahini – always choose hulled over unhulled tahini when shopping. It’s far less bitter and you will retain more of the nutrients tahini has to offer.
- Lemon Juice – This adds flavour, but the acidity also helps reduce any residual bitterness in the tahini and mellows out the garlic too.
- Water – This helps the consistency of the sauce, as tahini paste is very thick. Top tip – always stir the tahini in the jar before use. This will help mix back in all the natural oils from the sesame seeds that settles on top.
- Garlic – There is just a hint in this recipe, in balance with all the other flavours. A little goes a long way.
- Salt – Helps to enhance the flavour of the other ingredients.
- Parsley to garnish – Adding a little colour!
Many other recipes call for a lot more garlic than my Nana has used. Each to their own on that front. The small clove is more than enough for me, or it becomes too overpowering. If garlic is your thing though, feel free to taste then add more.
How To Make Tahini Sauce
This is really very simple. I don’t ever recall being told why the garlic and salt were mixed first. I still do it because that’s how I was taught to make tahini sauce. You can definitely just toss it all into one bowl if you’d prefer though.
- Mix together the crushed garlic and salt then set aside briefly.
- Add the tahini, half the lemon juice and half the water into a large bowl. Mix with a spoon until it thickens.
- Stir in the garlic and salt mix then add the remaining lemon juice and water and mix well to combine everything.
- Drizzle straight over a meal or if you’d like to thicken it slightly, pop it in the fridge overnight.
This will thicken up when stored in the fridge. If you find it too thick when you next want to use it, just take out what you need and add a little water to it. Stir to combine and it will be back at a pourable consistency.
FAQ
Tahini is the sesame paste from which tahina (the sauce) is made. Tahini is really just the base ingredient for tahina. To make it a little confusing tahini and tahina can also be used interchangeably.
Tahini has quite a creamy, nutty flavour. When combined with the other ingredients to make this sauce – it becomes quite savoury. You get hints of garlic, lemon, salt and the creaminess of the tahini with every bite. Tahini sauce should not be bitter, this is why I suggest using hulled tahini.
It is the perfect partner for savoury foods. Try it with felafel, baked vegetables, roasted meats or just use as a dip with crackers.
Watch How To Make This Tahini Sauce
Tahini Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup hulled tahini
- ½ cup lemon juice
- ½ cup water
- 1 small garlic clove, crushed (about 1/2 – 1 tsp)
- ½ tsp salt
- Fresh parsley (chopped, to garnish)
Instructions
- Mix together the crushed garlic and salt then set aside briefly.
- Add the tahini, half the lemon juice and half the water into a large bowl. Mix with a spoon until it thickens.
- Stir in the garlic and salt mix then add the remaining lemon juice and water and mix well to combine everything.
- Drizzle straight over a meal or if you’d like to thicken it slightly, pop it in the fridge overnight.
Notes
Nutrition
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