Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Tahini Salad Dressing

I am a huge fan of tahini. (This isn't surprising, as I am a fan of anything sesame based - spinach gomae salads, sesame mochi desserts, the sesame-sugar wafers sold 3/$1 at grocery stores, etc.)  Originally brought into my kitchen for the purpose of making hummus, which I used to do a lot, it has since because a key component of my vegan bechamel sauce, and a handy replacement for peanut or nut butter when I want toast but haven't been to the store in awhile. For a Greek-themed party earlier this year, I even made a gluten-free version of tahinopita (a vegan cake that uses tahini to replace the oil, dairy and eggs).  But over the past couple of years, I have started to obsess over tahini in a new form - as a sauce/salad dressing.

It started at Nuba, a local Lebanese restaurant chain that makes deep-fried cauliflower and serves it with tahini sauce. (I've been informed by a Lebanese friend that their recipe for the cauliflower isn't at all traditional, but I will say that traditional or not, it's tasty.) Then I started going to a Mediterranean restaurant near my house, and every time I'd say "no tzatziki, please" they'd ask if I wanted tahini sauce. And reading vegan cookbooks, it was hard to escape the "Vegan Goddess" salad dressing recipes; but I never have enough fresh herbs on hand to make a salad dressing that is basically vinegar, tahini and every available green herb, puréed. Still, it still remained a mystery how to transform the thick sesame paste in my jar of tahini into the thin, tasty sauce that I could also use as a salad dressing.

But then, I discovered the raw kale and tahini salad at the Whole Foods salad bar. This salad became a major obsession of mine; but it used a painful amount of raw garlic, which made it hard for me to indulge in very often.  (Also it's Whole Foods, so the cost of buying the salad quickly became prohibitive.)  Thus, I decided it was time to try and make my own version. A friend of mine, who had lived in Israel for awhile, suggested that I make a tahini sauce that was basically hummus, without the chickpeas. So, combining her suggestion with my general strategy for salad dressings (sweet, sour, bite, and creamy), I brought out my food processor and went to work. And the resulting dressing is so good that I have to restrain myself from eating it with a spoon!

Tahini Salad Dressing
Juice of 1 lemon (the sour)
Several large spoonfuls of tahini (the creamy)
~1 tbsp of honey (to taste) (the sweet)
1 small clove, raw garlic (the bite)
A few pinches of cumin
Drizzle of olive oil (optional)
Salt + pepper
A few squirts Sriracha hot sauce (optional)
Water, to achieve desired consistency

Throw all the ingredients into the food processor, along with ~1/4 cup of water to start.  Blend.  Add more water to achieve a desired consistency. This dressing will thicken up a LOT in the fridge, so I recommend making it quite thin to start. You can also use oil to thin it out, but I found it was plenty rich enough without having to add extra oil. Adjust seasonings to taste. This makes lots of dressing, but it keeps well in the fridge.

To serve: I really enjoy the dressing served with kale, either raw (if it's green kale) or sauteed (if it's black kale). Adding shredded carrot, chopped cherry tomatoes and/or chopped avocado help make it a more substantial salad, but honestly I am happy to just eat a full bunch of green kale drenched in this dressing and call it a meal.

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