Quote:
Originally Posted by Joyfull  Do any of you make your own Tahini?
So far the recipe ingredients and directions have been either,
-toasted sesame seeds and oil.
-untoasted seeds and oil.
-soaked seeds, then toasted and oil.
-sesame seeds, oil, lemon juice.
-sesame seeds, oil, lemon and lime juice, or just lime juice.
The oils ranges from plain vegetable oil, peanut oil, evoo oil, to sesame oil..
I've also found that some recipes add salt, some do not..
So, I'm wondering if any of you have a tried and true home made version of tahini? Or, should I forget the whole thing and stick to the jars?
Thanks.. |
Well let's start by getting our definitions lined up. Tahini is ground sesame seeds. It can be ground fresh sesame seeds, or it can be ground toasted sesame seeds. That's it. If you toast them, like I do, then be sure not to toast them too much, lightly browned or you get an awfully strong tahini. You end up, in either case, with very thick tahini paste. It will separate over time like old-fashioned peanut butter used to do, where the oil will rise to the top. Most commercial tahini that I've found in Middle Eastern grocery stores has to be stirred to be used, although sometimes i pour off a little bit of the sesame oil when a recipe calls for it. Anyway, back to homemade tahini. I have a nut grinder thing the wife bought to make peanut butter with, and it works ok. You can adjust the grind on it. But I've used a Vita-Mix to do my grinding usually and like the results. You could probably grind them with a mortar and pestle, but I don't know since I've never tried doing it that way.
Then there's Tahini Sauce.
I make Tahini Sauce thusly:
1/2 C Tahini
2-3 peeled raw garlic cloves
Juice of 1 lemon
S&P
touch of cumin (optional)
touch of cayenne
EVOO
Process in a food processor (actually I start by processing the garlic cloves, then add the tahini, then the rest of the ingredients).
Then I add water to get the consistency of sauce that I am looking for, not thin, not too thick. Depending on the lemons, I might add a touch more lemon juice to get the right flavor combination.
doc