Tahini sauce

In Cyprus this sauce is known as tahinosalata. In the United States, initially tahini was generally limited to a various Middle Eastern and health food stores.

The word tahini first appeared in English toward the end of the nineteenth century, but the actual product did not become commonplace in America until the late 1960s, when Middle Eastern dishes began gaining popularity.

Tahini, also known as tahena, is a paste made from toasted sesame seeds, olive oil and lemon juice. It is often flavored with salt, pepper and cumin. Toasting sesame seeds yields a more oily mixture and adds a stronger flavor.

One of the common uses of tahini is in a raw sauce typically made with lemon juice, water, garlic, and sometimes chopped parsley.

Tahini serves as a key component of Middle Eastern cooking – it appears in hummus; eggplant dishes, such as baba ghanouj; and confections, notably halva.

It is also used as a dipping sauce for falapel. No falapel sandwich is complete without a generous helping of tahini smeared on pita bread. It has a nutty flavor that acts as a perfect vehicle for both sweet and savory applications.

Like sesame seed, tahini is a vegetarian source of iron. One tablespoon (15 g) provides 91 calories; protein, 2.7 g; carbohydrate, 2.7 g; fiber, 2.2 g; fat, 8.5 g; iron, 0.95 mg; thiamin, 0.24 mg; riboflavin, 0.02 mg; niacin, 0.85 mg.
Tahini sauce