Lemon Tahini Dressing

I am absolutely in awe of tahini. It is incredibly versatile, nourishing, and of course, so delicious.
I consider tahini as the perfect accompaniment to almost any dish and I literally use it on everything - toasted bread, steamed vegetables, as a salad dressing, on roasted sweet potatoes (this one is SO good), and more. Yesterday, I was craving pasta, so my creamy tahini dressing became the perfect sauce.
I like to scale this recipe up to make a big batch of dressing & keep it in my fridge for use throughout the week. I think once you try it, you'll want to do the same!
Creamy Tahini Dressing
yields ~1 cup
Basic Dressing:
1/2 cup tahini
1/2 lemon, juiced (~1/4 cup juice
3 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon salt
pinch black pepper
For Savory Garlic Tahini Dressing, add:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (depending on how garlicky you like it)
1-2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon chopped herbs, optional (dill, parsley, basil, mint, etc.)
For Turmeric Tahini Dressing, add:
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
For Sweet Tahini Dressing, sub:
2 tablespoons maple syrup or other liquid sweetener, instead of lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon or 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
*This one is what I use on roasted sweet potatoes & it is fabulous
Start by combining the basic ingredients together in a bowl - tahini, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Whisk ingredients together, which will cause the sauce to thicken quite a bit. Then, add water, one tablespoon at a time, until you reach your desired thickness.
If using the tahini dressing as a spread, you may only need 1 or 2 tablespoons. If using as a pasta sauce, you will want to add about 3 tablespoons.
Once the water is added, whisk until dressing is smooth. Keeps in the fridge in an air-tight container for about five days.
Savory Garlic Tahini Pasta with Roasted Broccoli
(as pictured)

To make this pasta dish, I cut 2 heads of broccoli into small florets and tossed it with:
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 tablespoon of nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
I roasted the broccoli at 400F for about twenty minutes, until crispy & starting to brown.
Toss your favorite cooked pasta with the roasted broccoli & tahini dressing so everything is well coated. Serve warm.