Salata Tahina (Tahini Salad)

Salata tahina is the all-purpose sauce of Middle Eastern cooking. Creamy tahini thinned with lemon juice and water, sharpened with garlic and vinegar, and finished with ground cumin and a generous amount of chopped parsley. It shows up as a mazza dip with pita, a sauce for falafel and shawarma, and a dressing drizzled over grilled vegetables.

The recipe’s best trick is in the technique: beat the tahini on its own first before adding anything else. This preliminary beating smooths out the paste and takes the edge off its raw, bitter sesame flavor. Skip this step and the finished sauce will taste harsh.

Adding the lemon juice before the water is the key to getting the right consistency. Lemon juice actually thickens tahini (the acid causes the sesame proteins to seize up), so you end up with a very thick paste first. Then the water loosens it gradually, giving you total control over how thick or thin the final sauce turns out. Adding water first makes it impossible to thicken it back up.

Crush the garlic cloves with salt using the flat of a knife to create a smooth paste. Chunks of raw garlic floating in the sauce will give you uneven, fiery bites instead of a uniform flavor.

Kitchen Tips

• Taste as you go. The balance between tahini, lemon, and salt is personal. Some people like it tangier, some creamier.
• The sauce thickens in the fridge. If it gets too thick after chilling, stir in a tablespoon of water to loosen it.
• Use fresh lemon juice, not bottled. The flavor difference in a raw sauce like this is enormous.
• This keeps in the fridge for up to five days. The flavors actually meld and improve after a night of chilling.

Variations

• Stir in a roasted red pepper (blended smooth) for a smoky, slightly sweet version.
• Add a teaspoon of harissa paste for a spicy North African twist.
• Thin it further with extra water and use as a salad dressing over chopped cucumber and tomato.