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Homemade Condiments: Tahini Sauce
Lesson time 05:53 min
Learn how to make a tahini sauce you’ll want to add to everything.
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Topics include: Tahini Sauce
Teaches Modern Middle Eastern Cooking
James Beard Award–winning chef Yotam Ottolenghi teaches you his recipes for delicious Middle Eastern platters layered with color and flavor.
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[00:00:00.48] [MUSIC PLAYING] [00:00:06.30] INSTRUCTOR: Tahini is something that runs in the veins of the people in the Middle East. It's like the olive oil of southern Europe. It's used in a multiple of occasions. I'd say it's used all the time, in every meal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And as long as you know how to use it, you're in for a real treat. It's a wonderful thing to have. [00:00:29.14] It's better than olive oil, better than peanut butter. It's kind of a cross between the two. It's something that I think everybody should learn how to use. It's really healthy. It's really delicious. And it's hard to stop using once you've started. It really is a thing of wonder. [00:00:46.80] And it's super easy to make-- from the paste, which comes in jars or tubs like this-- to make a sauce. So I'm going to make a tahini sauce, and I'm going to use it for hummus. But I'm also going to use it for a million other things in my daily life, which I'll tell you all about. [00:01:06.54] So to make a good tahini sauce, you need the tahini paste. So there is a little separation between the solids and the oil on the tahini. That's totally normal. If you stir it nicely, it will all come together in a homogeneous kind of way. Some tahinis will be a bit paler or whiter than others. The sesames are a bit more toasted, so they look a little bit darker. [00:01:32.61] It's all up to you, but you really want to find a brand of tahini that you love. I find the brands that come from Lebanon, from Jordan, from Palestine, and Israel are normally the better ones. But I think it's all about the good sesame seeds. Normally, Ethiopian sesame seeds have been toasted nicely before they've been turned into a paste. [00:01:55.23] So I've got my tahini paste here, and I'm going to add some crushed garlic. Tahini sauce, which is what I'm making, is something that you could really use in almost any context. We can drizzle it over kebabs that have just come straight off the grill. So you've got that intense smell of lamb just off the heat or chicken, and then you put tahini on it and eat it. It's like a sin, how good it is. [00:02:25.98] You can drizzle it over chopped salad. Really, really nice cucumbers, tomatoes, a bit of garlic, olive oil, and tahini on top. Absolutely delicious. You can put it over roast vegetables. It could be served as a base for fried or grilled fish. Really, everything. Even desserts with tahini, but that's a different story. [00:02:46.63] So for my tahini sauce, I've got the tahini paste, crushed garlic, lemon juice, a little bit of salt, and I'm going to start adding water. And this is the thing where people who haven't made tahini might find slightly weird. So when you stir your tahini just with the lemon juice, it still looks like a nice paste. When you start adding the water, at some point it's going to seize up. [00:03:14.51] It actually does it already now, just with the lemon juice. And it looks like it's split, that's absolutely fine...
About the Instructor
One of the most influential chefs working today, Yotam Ottolenghi creates dishes that layer color and flavor for maximum impact. Now the James Beard Award winner teaches you simple steps for making and mixing Middle Eastern–inspired recipes. Learn how to make generous platters—mezze and brunch spreads to homemade condiments, stunning stand-alones, and delicious vegetables—so you can entertain with ease.
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Yotam Ottolenghi
James Beard Award–winning chef Yotam Ottolenghi teaches you his recipes for delicious Middle Eastern platters layered with color and flavor.
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