In my sesame WFD a few months ago I mentioned tahini (ground sesame seed butter) but didn’t offer any recipes, leaving myself room for a second diary on basically the same topic.
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The dish most familiar to Americans that contains tahini is probably hummus, a North African / Middle Eastern dip made of seasoned mashed chickpeas. This one tags itself on the net as “The BEST Hummus Recipe!” and I’m not calling them liars.
Other than hummus, recipes using tahini are extremely similar to recipes using peanut butter. I have a noodle recipe from a different Food Network chef that’s pretty much the same thing but all peanut butter instead of half pb and half tahini.
Szechuan Noodles
from Ina Garten at Food Network — serves 6 to 8
I liked this but I don’t think any recipe should be labeled “Szechuan” without at least twice this much hot pepper. I also don’t think I needed to search out expensive sherry vinegar for this, the flavor is hidden under everything else.
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 cup fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup tahini (sesame paste)
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup dry sherry
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon hot chili oil
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 pound spaghetti
1 red bell pepper, julienned
1 yellow bell pepper, julienned
4 scallions, sliced diagonally (white and green parts)
gloppy brownish sauce doesn’t make for a photogenic plate, but it tasted good
Place the garlic and ginger in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the vegetable oil, tahini, peanut butter, soy sauce, sherry, sherry vinegar, honey, chili oil, sesame oil, and ground peppers. Puree the sauce.
Add a splash of oil to a large pot of boiling salted water and cook the spaghetti al dente. Drain the pasta in a colander, place it in a large bowl, and while still warm, toss with 3/4 of the sauce. Add the red and yellow bell peppers and scallions; toss well. Serve warm or at room temperature. The remaining sauce may be added, as needed, to moisten the pasta.
Martha’s Tahini Cookies
from Martha Stewart — about 20 cookies
I bought parchment paper for baking but haven’t actually tried the cookies yet.
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup tahini, well stirred
1/2 cup white sesame seeds, or a combination of black and white, lightly toasted
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line four baking sheets with parchment.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in tahini. Reduce speed to low; beat in flour mixture until just combined. Cover and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
Spread sesame seeds on a shallow dish. Scoop 2 tablespoons of dough; roll into a ball. Roll in sesame seeds until thoroughly coated, then transfer to prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, spacing 3 inches apart. Bake, rotating halfway through, until golden brown, about 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheets to wire racks; let cool completely.
Unrelated to the dinner, I recently tried something that’s been in the back of my mind for a long time — pickled red onions. This is one of the reasons I bought a mandoline and I’m very happy with the results. Lunch around here includes a lot of cheese sandwiches and that jar of pickled onions is a quick upgrade.
I think dinner here will be saag paneer. What’s for dinner at your place? Why don’t you take a picture and write it up for us sometime? Message ninkasi23.