Tahini

If you’re thinking life’s too short to make my own tahini, I hear you. I too am very happy to use well made store bought items in everyday recipes. However, I love lots of food that benefits from tahini (humous, chocolate chip cookies and tahini dressing just to name a few…) and I really don’t like the bitterness of lots of store bought tahini. So here is a super quick and easy way to make your own which can be stored in a jar in the cupboard for a month, added to all sorts of delicious recipes and doesn’t have an overpoweringly bitter aftertaste.

I have stipulated to use hulled sesame seeds as unhulled seeds tend to taste more bitter and don’t give such a smooth end result.

Ingredients

95g hulled, toasted sesame seeds (toast your own if you prefer, over low heat in a dry pan and only lightly, but if we’re subscribing to life’s too short, buy them ready toasted!!

3tbl avocado oil (or your preferred light tasting oil – I think avocado adds a little more creaminess and sweetness)

1tsp salt

Method

Place the toasted sesame seeds in a food processor and process on high for a good minute until you see them starting to break down.

Pour in 1 tbl of oil and add the salt. I feel like the mixture gets smoother when it’s a bit thicker, so blend for a minute or more with just 1tbl of oil.

Once the mixture is looking very smooth, pour in the remaining two tbl of oil.

I store tahini in the cupboard in a glass jar. As well as being a useful addition to various recipes, tahini is very moreish spread on fresh bread or as a dip for crudite.