Saturday, February 19, 2011

Gaga for Tahini.



How many bottles of dressing are sitting your fridge? Come one, fess up. Dare I ask how old some of those bottles are??? If you were to open mine, you'd find one bottled dressing - ranch ( I can't help it, I need it for pizza). Aside from the ranch, I've dedicated my dressing/vinaigrette ways to making them myself, it's easy peasy. You rarely need to purchase exuberant ingredients for such an item and it makes all the difference in the world. It takes a salad from standard to life changing. Okay, maybe, that was slightly melodramatic, but it's the truth.

I wish I could claim this recipe as mine all mine, but I give credit to where credit is due. Back in January I took a healthy cooking class from the "one and only" Jessica Hilton (personal self and holistic nutritionist) and one of the recipe gems that I learned was a tahini dressing. The dressing was featured in a Mediterranean salad but also was suggested that we toss with steamed kale (which I have done and is amazing). Since that fateful day, I've made this dressing religiously and I think you should join this tahini-loving cult too. You will thank me.

Tahini Dressing

1 garlic clove, smashed and chopped
1/4 c. tahini (sesame paste)
zest of lemon
scant 1/4 c. fresh lemon juice
2 tbs. olive oil
2 tbs. hot water
scant 1/2 tsp. fine grain sea salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional - I added this to the dressing and it gave it a nice kick)

I blended all together with my immersion blender, but you could use a regular blender.

3 comments:

  1. I fell in love with tahini when we lived in New Hampshire and had a wonderful Falafel place in town (that I frequented quite a bit!) This sounds delicious. If Jessica Hilton is a nutritionist, does that mean this is a healthy recipe?
    Thanks for the fun cooking adventures you share Terryl! :)

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  2. Definitely healthy! Thanks for following Kassie! It's great tossed with kale too. And I think it would go great over any veggie you can roast! Give it a try!

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  3. Teryll, I really love tahini, use it all the time! Of course, it's essential to hummus and baba ghanoush, but I use it for lots of things, including salad dressing. I'll definitely try this one on steamed kale--hadn't thought of that!

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