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.