Lemon Tahini Dressing or Sauce

[Thanks for the Crepes]

I searched to see if there was another thread that might be appropriate for this topic. There's been some activity about lemon tahini, but nothing seemed right, especially the "Engineering No Oil Salad Dressings" thread. There is a good 2" of sesame oil sitting on top of my imported Krinos tahini. It contains nothing but ground sesame seeds.

 

I made a simple and quick version tonight for a dinner salad, and it was good, but not as good as some I have had, particularly from a local restaurant, Serendipity. I know they will not share their recipe as they sell jars of it, and I have bought it before. I have almost a full one-pound jar  of tahini left, so am up for some experimentation, if some of you have favorite recipes you would care to share.

[liuzhou]

Can't help with lemon tahini dressing, but I do make my own tahini.

 

It's so easy, why not? And I get to control what's in it. And I save a fortune over import prices.

Lightly toasted then ground sesame seeds and olive oil. End of list. It's on my "to do" list for tomorrow. I guess I could add lemon.

 

 

It nearly all goes into hummus.

Edited May 26, 2016 by liuzhou (log)

[shain]

I eat tahini sauce every day, it is a staple in Israeli cuisine. The most important factor is the tahini you use. It's important to note that it's not necessary the same tahini you prefer too eat raw. I always keep 2 brands, one for suace and one for eating raw and using in sweets. I also keep a whole meal tahini, which is good for eating raw or sweet, but not in lemony sauce. 

Another factor is sufficient amount of water, dilution is important to realese the nuances of tahini and reduce the earthy-toasted notes to a pleasant level. Start with a ratio of one to one by volume. It should be very liquid and flow freely. If you want it thicker, refrigerate it for a few hours. 

Do not add too much garlic. No more then one clove to one cup of prepared sauce. A good tahini suace doesn't have to contain garlic at all, but it does improve it. 

Lemon should be added to taste, it's quite easy to get the amount right if you know what you like. 

Always mix the raw tahini in it's jar very well before using, otherwise you will get too much solids or too much fat. 

Edited May 26, 2016 by shain (log)

[Okanagancook]

I have a fairly large stash of sesame seeds but they are not hulled (that's what happens when you send someone, not mentioning any names, to the Asian Store without clear instructions about what kind of sesame seeds to buy).  Can I use them for tahini making?  Or for the sauce I could just whiz them with the water?  I have a dry grind jar for my Vitamix.

 

Very interesting shain.  Thanks for info.

[Smithy]

@Thanks for the Crepes, when you posted your question I thought you meant, say, a salad dressing based on tahini, with a lemny note added.  Is that what you mean?  Would you describe your ideal a bit more fully, please?  Consistency, uses, flavor profile if it's more complex than tahini with lemon would all be helpful.

[shain]

5 minutes ago, Okanagancook said:

I have a fairly large stash of sesame seeds but they are not hulled (that's what happens when you send someone, not mentioning any names, to the Asian Store without clear instructions about what kind of sesame seeds to buy).  Can I use them for tahini making?  Or for the sauce I could just whiz them with the water?  I have a dry grind jar for my Vitamix.

 

Very interesting shain.  Thanks for info.

I never made tahini paste myself, since even the best cost less than 3$ a pound. You can make tahini with unhulled seeds, but as I said, I do not like to use it in sauce, it is too earthy and bitter. 

Toast them low and slow, grind them as if making peanut butter (many instructions online). It makes a delicious spread on toast with some honey. Unhulled sesame is also very healthy. 

 

I should also mention that for use in salads with moist ingredients, such as tomatoes, tahini sauce is better made a little thicker and tarter to offset the added vegtable liquids. 

[Thanks for the Crepes]

Thank you, everyone for the ideas for tahini. 

 

13 hours ago, Smithy said:

@Thanks for the Crepes, when you posted your question I thought you meant, say, a salad dressing based on tahini, with a lemny note added.  Is that what you mean?  Would you describe your ideal a bit more fully, please?  Consistency, uses, flavor profile if it's more complex than tahini with lemon would all be helpful.

 

@Smithy, yes, I would love to make something close to the salad dressing recipe the Serendipity restaurant uses on their menu and sells jars of. I was also looking for other ideas too, since the jar I bought mentions using a tahini sauce on falafel. Any ideas for tahini are most welcome. I have already increased my knowledge a lot. I know I'm not going to get the recipe out of the restaurant, at least as long as they're in business, but I would like to learn more and experiment with tahini.

 

I was unaware of using it in sweets. I was also unaware of the importance of using water in the sauce to bring out the nuances of the tahini or the availability of hulled and unhulled seeds used in it, so thanks @shain, for those 3 tips.

 

There's no mention on the Krinos jar of hulled or unhulled, but I am going to guess it's probably unhulled because a 2T serving contains 3g or 12% daily fiber. I did not find it bitter at all, but rich and nutty, though. That is not to say that I might not like the hulled verison better in a salad dressing, but had no idea of the difference. It was $5.99 USD for the one pound jar, and considering how far it goes, and how delicious and nutritious it is, it seems a bargain to me.

 

I'm starting with a pretty blank slate on knowledge of this ingredient, but I know I like it a lot and wish I could make the dressing like Serendipity does. I think theirs has a little kick of hot pepper, but not really pronounced. It's delicious enough that they do a brisk business selling jars of it after folks try it in the restaurant. 

 

The dressing I stirred up last night contained only the juice of one lemon, about 1/4 c tahini and about 2T tamari. I did not add the called for water for fear of diluting it, but I'm a real newby when it comes to tahini, so thanks again shain.

 

It was very loosely based on this recipe from "The Irregardless Cooks" copyright 1982 by J. Arthur Gordon. It's a cookbook put out by the Irregardless Cafe in Raleigh as a fundraiser for a rebuild after a fire. They are still in business.

 

Lemon Tahini Dressing

 

Makes 2 cups

 

1/4 c tahini

1/4 c tamari

1/2 c oil

1/3 c lemon juice

1/4 c onion minced

2 T green pepper minced

1 t white pepper

about 1/4 c water

 

They have you whiz everything in a blender except the water, and then add that a bit at a time to reach desired consistency.

 

Now that I have a working dishwasher again, I'll haul out the blender and try this restaurant recipe as written for sure, although I will probably cut the oil. There is a lot of sesame oil sitting on top of my tahini. I have to say that the very simple version I made last night was very good, though. My husband was raving over it, and he is not a big salad fan. This is a good way to get him to eat more of them. 

 

 

[liuzhou]

1 hour ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:

There is a lot of sesame oil sitting on top of my tahini.

 

It is normal for tahini to separate in storage. Are you sure it's sesame oil?

 

I just stir it back in. Or are you unhappy with the amount of oil? If so, pour off what you consider excessive and stir the back rest in. You may, however, lose some flavour.

Edited May 27, 2016 by liuzhou (log)

[Thanks for the Crepes]

2 hours ago, liuzhou said:

 

It is normal for tahini to separate in storage. Are you sure it's sesame oil?

 

I just stir it back in. Or are you unhappy with the amount of oil? If so, pour off what you consider excessive and stir the back rest in. You may, however, lose some flavour.

 

 

Yes, I realize that it is like more natural nut and seed butters, and if the label is to be believed, my jar contains only ground sesame seeds. The oil floating on top tastes like toasted sesame oil that I buy at my Korean-owned Pan Asian grocer, but not as darkly toasted and intense. It also remains liquid at very cold fridge temp, which is more evidence to me that it's indeed sesame oil. I like the product a lot, and so does my husband. 

 

I'm not unhappy with the oil content in the least, but I would be reluctant to add more unspecified oil in the proportion recommended in the recipe I quoted from Irregardless.

 

Thanks for your help, liuzhou.

[shain]

A couple of things. The oil on the the tahini is indeed toasted sesame oil, that just separated from the solids, you can actually use it by itself, it makes a nice vinaigrette, and a alternative to other nut oils. It is less intense than the Chinese version, since sesame is toasted lighter for making tahini. 

You should never (traditionally) add oil to tahini sauce or hummus, as you both noted, the tahini is oily enough. Oil can be drizzled along, if mixed into the tahini, it's flavor will not come through.

The tahini sauce recipe you listed is very different from what I'm used to.

Mine is approximately 1/2 cup tahini, 1/2 cup water, 2 tspn lemon, salt. Optional touch of black pepper, chili or cumin.

And again I just think unhulled tahini just don't fit. It's quite easy two tell, unhulled tahini is darker and has some tiny hull flakes in it. 

 

My favorite brand is this one. Amazing who expensive it is abroad... 

 

Other than as a salad dressing, tahini sauce can served with meats, especially lamb, grilled chicken and kebabs. It works great with grilled eggplant as a lemony sauce or raw, with some cumin and paprika. You can try it in a babaganush. I've also posted tahini cookies recipe a while ago:

 

[cakewalk]

I think it really does need the water. I add it to the tahini a little bit at a time, stirring after each addition. The tahini will seize, since it's mostly oil. Just keep adding a bit more water and stirring, until you reach a smooth consistency. Then start playing around with your flavorings.

 

Tahini and honey is a wonderful combination. I've been known to mix a spoonful of tahini (unmixed, no water for this one) with a spoonful of honey and spread it on crackers. It's a great snack.

[Okanagancook]

The cookbook Zahav introduced me to tahini sauce.  In his instructions he says this "The important step here is to allow the garlic and lemon juice to hang out for 10 minutes after blending but before adding the tahini.  This step helps stabilize the garlic and prevents it from fermenting and turning sour and aggressive, which is the problem with a lot of tahini sauces."  He uses garlic, lemon juice, salt, tahini, ground cumin and ice water to thin to your preferred consistency.  He then uses this sauce in many of his subsequent recipes.  So quite different from shain's thinner sauce.  I found Zahav's sauce to be quite strong so I think I would prefer shain's version...will have to try it.  Here is a link to the recipe:  http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2016/03/israeli-style-tahini-sauce-recipe.html

 

In the June/July issue of Fine Cooking there is a recipe for preserved lemon tahini sauce, here:   http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/preserved-lemon-tahini-sauce.aspx

Says to thin the sauce with additional lemon juice and use as a dressing for green salads; serve as a dip for falafel or spread on lamb or veggie burgers.

 

Great thread Thanksforthecrepes.

[Deryn]

I'd be inclined to leave out the soy sauce. Not really certain why it is called for at all in this kind of sauce/dressing. I have made many a lemon-y tahini sauce with just sesame seeds or prepared tahini, lemon juice (to taste), a garlic clove, a pinch of salt - and sometimes a tiny bit of honey, depending on what I want to use it with/on - and water (not much usually). If I wanted a bit of back end kick, I would probably sneak in a pinch of cayenne or some other dried chili.

 

Thanks for the Crepes - what are the ingredients listed on the jar of Serendipity dressing?

[Smithy]

Since we're on tahini sauce recipes in general, be sure to check out Rachel Perlow's Tahini Sauce in RecipeGullet.  FoodMan also posted a recipe in his eGCI course, Introduction to Lebanese Cuisine. The recipe is somewhere midway down the first page, in the "Basics" section.  He also gives uses for tahini other than as dressing.

[blue_dolphin]

@Okanagancook, thanks for mentioning those 2 recipes.  When I saw Zahav's recipe on Serious Eats, I meant to give it a try but forgot all about it.  I thought the idea of blending a lot of garlic with the lemon juice and then straining it out was very interesting.   

When I saw Thanks for the Crepes's query, I was wondering how a bit of preserved lemon would work so I was interested by the Fine Cooking recipe you linked to as well.

 

Finally, my own suggestion would be to include some lemon zest in the dressing along with the lemon juice.  I love that extra hit of lemon flavor that comes from freshly grated zest.

 

edited to add:  @Thanks for the Crepes, apparently you are not the only person to have found that dressing memorable:  Serendipity & Lemon Tahini Sauce

Edited May 27, 2016 by blue_dolphin
to add link (log)

[Thanks for the Crepes]

As usual, you guys and gals are an absolute wealth of culinary information and insights. You are the best! Thank you all so much for responding and for your help. I have so many things to explore and try now, armed with much more knowledge.

 

18 hours ago, shain said:

You should never (traditionally) add oil to tahini sauce or hummus, as you both noted, the tahini is oily enough.

 

That is what I thought. I am running across many recipes that call for additional oil, however. I will definitely be trying your simple recipe.

 

11 hours ago, Deryn said:

Thanks for the Crepes - what are the ingredients listed on the jar of Serendipity dressing?

 

I do not have a jar and haven't in many years. Perhaps back to the time when mom and pop's were not required to list ingredients for their secret recipes. I started going there in the 80's. I recall nothing about it if the ingredients were listed when I used to buy it. I do remember it was quite lemony and seemed to have a little capsaicin  like the cayenne you recommended or maybe hot paprika like @shain

mentioned, while not specifying the hot variety.

 

Unfortunately Academy street in downtown Cary, where Serendipity is located, is closed for major construction now. They built a hotel I am not at all sure we need, plus a bunch of other stuff is in progress. I hope the older businesses, including Serendipity, survive the long street closure. If I get some extra money, I can walk down there. It's a bit of a trek, but doable, and that's a great idea about the label ingredients. They are probably required to list them now due to allergy concerns, although everyone gets away with "spices".  It would be a good start to trying to duplicate the recipe. Thank you.

 

10 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

edited to add:  @Thanks for the Crepes, apparently you are not the only person to have found that dressing memorable:  Serendipity & Lemon Tahini Sauce

[Thanks for the Crepes]

This post is in response to my quote from @blue_dolphinabove. Technical issue.

 

Thank you so much for searching out and putting up the link by a former employee, no less, of Serendipity with a recipe attempting to replicate the restaurant's recipe.  You know I am going to be all over her recipe! I never bothered to search because a recipe like that is guarded pretty closely.

 

Interestingly, the proportions of the main components are not too far off what I put together from memory the other night with much more lemon than some other recipes.

 

This eGullet place, and the people that make it all happen are unparalleled.

[Deryn]

I see no mention of any 'capsaicin'-like ingredient so I would guess that the sharpness really just comes from the garlic (not that you could not add a bit of something-something if the garlic was not enough kick).

[Thanks for the Crepes]

4 minutes ago, Deryn said:

I see no mention of any 'capsaicin'-like ingredient so I would guess that the sharpness really just comes from the garlic (not that you could not add a bit of something-something if the garlic was not enough kick).

 

I will try the ex-employee's recipe as written, but I am almost sure there was some slight capsaicin in it. I have a good palate and memory, so far, and knock wood it continues. 

 

She was just guessing and recreating it from memory as I have to. She was a hostess and waitress, not a cook. I will definitely make the journey to Serendipity on foot when I have some money (and it's not too hot) to enjoy their dressing again and hopefully buy a jar of it to get some idea of the ingredients from the label . The street will be closed for about a year.  Thank you again for your great idea! 

 

I will also be using @Okanagancook's tip from her cookbook "Zahav" for food saftey and better taste when I add garlic:

 

16 hours ago, Okanagancook said:

"The important step here is to allow the garlic and lemon juice to hang out for 10 minutes after blending but before adding the tahini.  This step helps stabilize the garlic and prevents it from fermenting and turning sour and aggressive, which is the problem with a lot of tahini sauces."

 

 

 

[Anna N]

Here's a link  to a recipe for tahini sauce made with preserved lemons from Fine Cooking magazine. 

[Smithy]

I made a lemony tahini dressing similar to the recipe that @Thanks for the Crepes posted.  It's similar but not identical, I suspect, because I needed to use a blender to remix the tahini - no fork or whisk was going to get that done in my lifetime.  Once the blender bowl was in use it made sense to add everything else and blend.  It's a beautiful green color due to the fine texture of the parsley.  Next up will be the Serendipity version, but I think this is quite nice.

[Smithy]

Following up on my own post: that lemony tahini dressing that was "quite nice" on May 29 has gotten rather tiresome by now.  I'm almost finished with the 1-cup batch I made.  As it's aged (stored in the refrigerator) the sesame has become more pronounced and the lemon less so.  Even after it's come up to room temperature it's stiff enough to require a spoon. It wasn't like that the first day.

 

I still plan to try the Serendipity version next time around.  Has anyone else tried it? @Thanks for the Crepes, how are your experiments going?

[cakewalk]

1 hour ago, Smithy said:

Even after it's come up to room temperature it's stiff enough to require a spoon. It wasn't like that the first day.

The tahini will continue to absorb liquid. Just add a bit more water and stir. 

[shain]

2 hours ago, Smithy said:

Following up on my own post: that lemony tahini dressing that was "quite nice" on May 29 has gotten rather tiresome by now.  I'm almost finished with the 1-cup batch I made.  As it's aged (stored in the refrigerator) the sesame has become more pronounced and the lemon less so.  Even after it's come up to room temperature it's stiff enough to require a spoon. It wasn't like that the first day.

 

I still plan to try the Serendipity version next time around.  Has anyone else tried it? @Thanks for the Crepes, how are your experiments going?

 

Well, when you grow up on it, it can't really get boring, I just switch the things I put it on... To me, it's like for an Italian growing tired of pasta. 

You can try adding some flavorings, garlic or parsley is a good starting point. Also, consider trying other tahini brands, I don't know what is available to you, but the spectrum of tahini flavors is quite astonishing IMO.

I don't like to keep tahini that long, I find it develop some of flavor and I rather make a two days worth batch. This is especially true if you add garlic or parsley.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

I made a batch of lemon tahini tonight to go with a green leaf lettuce and chickpea salad. It was according to the Serendipity recipe linked, but I had no fresh parsley, so I left that out. I also do not remember either the texture of even very finely chopped parsley or a greenish tint which would result if it was whirred up in a blender, which I suspect is the way the restaurant does it. It would take them too long to get big batches homogeneous by hand. I didn't add garlic the first time I made it just before starting this thread, but I did add a small clove this time because the Serendipity recipe calls for it. So:

 

4 T tahini

2 t sesame oil from jar

1 small clove garlic crushed in a press

1 lemon juiced

plus quite a bit more than the 2 t water called for because it was so thick

 

I generally don't care much for raw garlic. This time was no exception, but the sauce was still good. I may try dried garlic powder on the next batch. Roasted garlic might also be very nice in it. I decided I quite like the first one I mentioned here with the tarmari, but I have always liked a salty taste.

 

I also served the sauce with Imam Baildi or Imam Bayildi depending on which of my cookbooks you consult. It was very good with this eggplant dish too.

 

I fried up the green tomato one night and enjoyed it with the leftovers from the first batch I made with tamari. Recommended.