This technique also has a cool chemical reaction in it: the interaction between the tahini and the lemon juice. The acid in the lemon juice causes a very runny tahini sauce to thicken up and become stiff and solid. (Any chemists out there who can explain this??)
This is an old school recipe that's best done with a mortar and pestle. You can do this in a food processor, but I rarely do (mainly because I hate cleaning the food processor), but also because I find it doesn't do a very good job smashing the garlic.
Tahini Sauce
This sauce is classic, and rarely needs anything else, but feel free to try adding a pinch of cumin or Aleppo pepper just to mix things up.
1 garlic clove
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup tahini
juice of 2 lemons (must be fresh!)
water
1. Bash the garlic and salt in a mortar and pestle until it reaches a smooth paste. Transfer the paste to a bowl and stir in the tahini.
2. Add in the lemon juice, you will see the sauce become very white and "tight." Slowly add in water until the mixture reaches a smooth paste (don't be surprised, you may have to add up to 1 to 2 cups of water). The sauce should be thick put pourable. Season as desired.
The lemon thickening thing is indeed weird! I like tahini with sweet tomatoes in the summer!
ReplyDeleteI've made tashi or Cypriot tahini sauce for years, after learning how from my Cypriot neighbors in Wood Green, London where I lived for a few years.
ReplyDeleteThey taught me to use a glass bowl and a wooden spoon.
Start with equal parts tahini and HOT water - we want to double the volume. There is a physical change that happens with the hot water: the tahini changes consistency twice, first into a dark brown loose ball like gummy oatmeal, and second, in almost halva-like texture, grainy and lighter in color. It's only when it reaches the second stage that we would add the lemon juice - enough to smooth out and lighten the tahini. It's critical to beat in a clockwise direction, with a wooden spoon, vigorously until you reach 2nd stage.
So by Cypriot proportions, that's a 8 oz. jar/can of tahini, 1 cup min. of hot water (not boiled, tap hot), the strained juice from 5-6 lemons, salt and 1 Tbl. each finely chopped garlic and parsley.
Once you make tahini in this way, by hand, with hot water, I don't think you will ever want to use a processor again. Too thin, too oily, not fluffy enough due to lack of volume for volume hot water, not lemony enough due to lack of incorporation with a spoon.
Making tashi is one of my all time favorite things to do. It's meditative and magical. And it tastes superior, too!
This is good masha Allah. I did it all in my mortar & pestle in a lesser amount using sea salt. I would make this again!!!
ReplyDeleteGood idea and so healthy and delicious sauce!
ReplyDeletewhen you say "tahini" as an ingredient in the above recipe - do you mean sesame seeds?
ReplyDelete