Vegan tahini sauce recipe
This vegan tahini dressing is one of my secret weapons. I always, ALWAYS have a jar in my fridge. It’s perfect on absolutely everything, like roasted vegetables, boiled or grilled meat, fish, fried eggplants, or even just drizzled on bread. The only thing I’ve never served it with is cheese, but who knows, maybe it’s amazing!
The only secret to this tahini dressing is that you need the best tahini that you can find. And by that I mean stone-ground, 100% pure, organic tahini.
What is tahini?
Tahini is basically a liquid paste made from sesame seeds and is a staple in Middle-Eastern and Israeli cuisine. You can even find it hiding in some Greek desserts, thanks to the Turkish influence that the occupation had on their culinary history.
The best tahini is made with organic sesame seeds, and the paste is obtained by grinding the seeds using a stone press. When I was in Jerusalem and Aleppo, I saw ancient stone presses that have been used to only make tahini for hundreds of years! Needless to say, they produce actual liquid gold in terms of the flavor and quality of the tahini.
Tahini is always made with sesame seeds but the seeds can be hulled, toasted, raw, or even sprouted. There are also differences in the taste of the tahini depending on where it comes from. Israeli tahini has a different flavor to Turkish or Egyptian tahini, so be sure to taste test a variety and find the one you love.
Personally, I always opt for Lebanese, Syrian, or Israeli tahini as I find that they taste the best and the consistency is not to thick and not too runny.
What to make with tahini
Of course, you’ve probably heard of tahini because it’s the essential ingredient in hummus and baba ganoush (roasted eggplant dip).
But if you’re looking for more ways to use tahini, here’s what you can try:
- toss vegetables with tahini and honey before roasting them in the oven (think carrots, beets, or parsnips)
- use it in desserts (like in a tahini-swirl brownie recipe that I’m working on, more on that later!)
- drizzle it on top of toast with ricotta and honey
- mix it into a chickpea curry to thicken it up
- bake it into chocolate chip cookies for the ultimate dessert
These chocolate chip tahini cookies by David Lebovitz are my absolute favorite cookie recipe. I always have a log of this dough hanging out in my freezer in case I get hit by a craving.
I also love using tahini to make my vegan tahini dressing. This sauce is an essential part of my fried eggplant sandwiches. You’ll find that it’s also wonderful on roasted vegetables, in pita bread, in hummus, or even as a salad dressing. I love drizzling it on top of roasted or fried eggplants, that I then cover with pomegranate seeds, fresh mint, and parsley. Visually, it’s very Ottolenghi but it’s also very unfussy food (my favorite kind of food!).
Vegan tahini dressing recipe tips:
- When you add the lemon to the tahini and start to stir, the tahini is going to harden. You’re going to think that you’ve messed up and totally ruined it, but you haven’t! Just add the water, slowly, patiently, and stir. You’ll notice that the tahini will start to become less stiff and more liquid. Then it will slowly turn into a sauce. So just don’t panic!
- There’s absolutely no need to add any oil to the sauce as there’s already oil that’s naturally present in the tahini.
- You can however add a bit of Greek yogurt (like 1 teaspoon to start with) if you’d like the flavor to be creamier.
- Add more or less lemon, garlic, and salt & pepper according to taste. The quantities that I’m giving you are approximate, and I’d much rather you experiment with them and find the flavor balance that you like the most. If you love extra garlic, then throw in another clove. If you don’t like it too lemony, then add a bit less. It’s totally up to you! My aim is just to give you the basic guidelines to make my favorite vegan tahini dressing. Then, you can make it your own!
Vegan tahini dressing
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp tahini organic, stone-ground, high quality
- 1 clove garlic
- 1-2 tbsp fresh lemon juice add more if you like it a bit more sour
- salt & pepper
- water
Instructions
- Place the tahini in a bowl.
- Squeeze the fresh lemon juice and add it to the tahini.
- Crush the garlic in a garlic-press and add to the bowl with the tahini and lemon juice.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Mix with a spoon.
- The tahini will start to harden and become quite stiff once you mix it with the lemon. That's totally normal so don't freak out!
- Start adding water, tablespoon by tablespoon. Mix each time after you add water. Slowly you'll see that the tahini starts to loosen up and become more liquid. Mix well, making sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl. Add enough water until the sauce is smooth and creamy, and the texture is similar to a vinaigrette. You can also add less water if you prefer it to be thicker, or more water if you like it thinner. I can't give you an exact amount of water because it depends on the type of tahini you have and how thin or thick you want the sauce to be.
Notes
[Francais]
Vous avez surement entendu parler du ‘tahini’ ou ‘tahine’ car il s’agit de l’ingredient phare dans le hummus et le caviar d’aubergine (baba ganoush).
Le tahini c’est essentiellement une purée très liquide de graines de sesames. Pour l’obtenir, on va moudre des graines de sésame (soit natures, soit torréfiées) dans une presse qui est traditionnellement faite de pierre.
Le résultat c’est un liquide brun/beige/or en couleur, avec un goût très particulier et une texture très crémeuse. On peut l’utiliser dans des patisseries (cookies aux pépites de chocolat et brownies, par exemple), sur des viandes ou légumes rôties, ou dans ma sauce preferee. Cette sauce, naturellement vegane et tres facile a faire, est parfaite pour garnir des sandwichs d’aubergines frites avec de la viande aux 4-épices. On peut aussi l’utiliser comme une vinaigrette dans un buddha bowl par exemple, pour accompagner des falafels ou des boulettes, dans du hummus, sur des carottes ou betteraves roties, et dans n’importe quel sandwich. C’est juste délicieux et j’en ai toujours dans mon frigo, car c’est mon arme secrète pour faire manger des légumes à mes enfants (ca, et le Parmesan haha).
Voici donc ma recette de sauce tahine vegane, que vous pouvez conserver au frigo pendant au moins 7-10 jours.
La recette
Ingredients:
- 2 cas de tahine (tahini) de bonne qualite
- 1 ou 2 cas de jus de citron frais
- 1 gousse d’ail pressée (dans le presse-ail)
- sel & poivre a votre gout
- de l’eau
Procedure:
Dans un petit bol ou ramequin (ou même un pot de confiture), rajoutez le tahine, l’ail, le sel, le poivre, et le jus de citron. Mélangez avec une cuillère jusqu’à ce que le melange epaissise beaucoup. Ca va devenir assez dure, mais ne vous inquietez pas !
Ensuite, rajoutez de l’eau doucement, en melangent sans cesse, jusqu’à obtenir une consistance bien crémeuse. Attention à ne pas mettre trop d’eau sinon la sauce n’aura pas beaucoup de goût, mais il faut quand même bien la délayer. Pensez a une consistance un peu plus épaisse qu’une vinaigrette.
Je ne peux pas vous donner une quantité d’eau exacte car il faut vraiment le faire au pif. Ca dépend de la qualité et de la texture du votre tahini, et de la texture que vous souhaitez obtenir (plus ou moins liquide). Du coup, il faut le faire au feeling 🙂
Hope you enjoy this recipe!