Tahini Sauce for Vegetables & Pilafs

(I'm no longer posting on this blog - enjoy the recipe but if you want to see what I'm up to, visit me here.)

Sometimes I get really sick of eating my veggies in the same old ways: salads with vinaigrette, crudites (have I told you how much I hate that word?) with hummus, or just plain. I love my veggies and I eat lots of them but sometimes I want them to taste like they're terrible for me! I want them to taste indulgent! Taste like they could be drenched in butter or covered in cheese and bacon! . . .But I don't really want to cover them in any of those things so I make a sesame tahini based dipping sauce to use when I have that urge.

No, it's not diet food. I'd be lying if I told you it was low calorie but it's still healthy. Tahini, the main ingredient here is made from sesame seeds which are pretty fatty. However, the fat in Tahini is the monounsaturated kind, the good fat, and it's also loaded with calcium, magnesium and iron. So you can enjoy all the deliciousness of tahini without feeling bad (provided you don't sit down and eat it with a spoon!).

Try this sauce on raw veggies, steamed veggies, roasted veggies, as a salad dressing or stir into pilafs, and other grain dishes that need a little boost. It's rich, sweet, garlicky and creamy all at the same time. Let me know what you think!

Ingredients

1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup water
2 cloves of minced garlic
1 teaspoon honey
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

This is the most complicated recipe ever. I had to warn you. It will take all day to make so make sure you set aside 8-10 hours to prepare it. HAHA. Just kidding. Toss everything into a bowl and wwhisk until well blended. Serve. Yum!

I'm heading off to Cape Cod until Tuesday so don't expect any posts from me until after that! I actually have the whole week off (yay!) but have family coming to visit from AZ so I'm not sure how much time I'll have online. It won't kill me to get away from the computer for a few days . . .

All text and photographs (except where noted otherwise) © 2008, 2009 Food is to love / Andrea Quigley