Try this Dreamy Tahini Sauce recipe, or contribute your own.
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) well stirred tahini try our easy tahini recipe
- 1 garlic clove minced very finely into a paste see note
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1/2 a lemon)
- 2 to 6 tablespoons lukewarm water
- pinch cumin optional
- pinch cayenne optional
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley optional
- Carbohydrate 0.24054 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 3.40502000144734 g
- Fiber 0.125399998188019 g
- Protein 0.11286 g
- Saturated Fat 0.471036000199849 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (8g)
- Sodium 304.507900000029 mg
- Sugar 0.115140001811981 g
- Trans Fat 0.100477000039194 g
- Calories 31 calories
Step-by-step
- Whisk tahini, garlic paste, lemon juice, olive oil and the salt in a bowl until combined — the mixture will thicken, don’t worry about this.
- Add the water, a tablespoon at a time and whisking well after each addition until desired consistency. If making a spread, look for the consistency of peanut butter. If making a sauce, add enough water until the consistency of runny yogurt.
- Stir in the optional cumin, cayenne pepper and parsley.
- Taste for seasoning and adjust with additional salt or lemon juice.
- Store covered in the refrigerator up to 5 days.
Substituting bottled lemon juice for fresh citrus fundamentally shifts the emulsion, introducing harsh pasteurized acidity that overpowers the toasted sesame oils rather than balancing them. Sesame paste naturally contains suspended solids and heavy fats that seize aggressively when initial liquids are introduced. Whisking the tahini, garlic, salt, olive oil, and lemon juice together first creates a thick, stiff paste before any dilution occurs. This initial resistance happens because the acid and water initially bind tightly to the sesame proteins and solids, causing temporary thickening. Adding lukewarm water gradually—one tablespoon at a time—restores fluidity by hydrating the mixture without dropping the emulsion temperature. A metal whisk paired with a heavy ceramic or glass bowl provides sufficient friction to break up sesame clumps, though a small food processor or immersion blender yields an ultra-smooth consistency with minimal effort. Raw garlic contains sulfur compounds that mellow when macerated into a fine paste with salt crystals acting as an abrasive. Ground cumin and cayenne introduce volatile aromatic compounds that cut through the heavy lipids of the sesame paste, while fresh parsley adds water-soluble chlorophyll notes. Stored in a sealed glass container, the finished preparation keeps for up to five days in the refrigerator.
