Expanding the Tahini Palette

Many hounds know sesame tahini as an ingredient in hummus and baba ghanoush, but Chowhounds also love it in everything from sauces to sweets. "A little bit of tahini in just about anything adds a new nutty dimension to the dish," Motosport says.

A basic sauce is simply tahini, lemon, and water whisked together. This is "probably the most versatile sauce out there," says JungMann. "Great on vegetables, salad, roasted fish, or even just bread." JungMann adds a pinch of cumin, salt, and sometimes parsley to his sauce. 1sweetpea mixes tahini with yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, and salt to make a topping for fish or a dip for vegetables. cheesecake17 combines it with lime juice, soy sauce, and a splash of water and uses the combo to dress salad and steamed broccoli. Emme brushes tahini on fish before breading it, and uses the paste to flavor deviled eggs.

Tahini lends a nice flavor to sweets as well. haiku. calls tahini-rich sesame coins "delicious," and HillJ says mixing it with graham cracker crumbs "equals a lovely cheesecake crust or tart shell." It can also be used to add sesame flavor to ice cream, custards, and puddings.

Some hounds love starting their day with tahini. pine time mixes a bit of it with almond butter and then eats this with thinly sliced bananas. When rose water visited a friend in Palestine, "our rich, delicious breakfast was bread dipped into tahini, with a swirl of pomegranate molasses on top. It's like concentrated pb&j." And meadandale adds a heaping tablespoonful to a fruit smoothie.

Discuss: What else can I use tahini for?
Tehina--Other uses besides making Hummus?