Israel · Sauces and Dips

Tahini Sauce

Simple tahini sauce — sesame paste thinned with water, brightened with lemon and garlic.

5 min✻4 servings✻80 kcal
Tahini Sauce

Ingredients

  • tahini paste80 g
  • lemon juice2 tbsp
  • garlic1 clove
  • cold water60 ml
  • ground cumin0.25 tsp
  • saltto taste

Method

  1. 1Spoon the tahini into a bowl. It will be thick and stiff — this is normal.
  2. 2Add the lemon juice and stir. The tahini will seize up and become even thicker — do not panic, this always happens. Keep stirring.
  3. 3Add the garlic, cumin, and salt. Stir to combine.
  4. 4Add the cold water one tablespoon at a time, stirring well after each addition. The sauce will first become a thick paste, then gradually loosen. Stop when it reaches a pourable consistency — like heavy cream.
  5. 5Taste and adjust: more lemon for brightness, more salt for depth, more water if too thick. Tahini sauce thickens as it sits, so make it slightly thinner than you want.