Tarator (Tahini Sauce)

Name: Tarator (Tahini Sauce)
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: .5 cup Tahini Paste; 4 Cloves of Garlic; .25 cup Lemon Juice; .5 tsp. Salt; .5 cup Water

February 25, 2020
by Iman

Cuisine: Lebanese
Difficulty: Easy

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Prep Time

5 mins
Serving

8

Tarator is a Lebanese Tahini sauce made with only a handful of vegan ingredients. All you need is tahini paste, lemon juice,garlic, a pinch of salt and water to thin it out

Tarator is a Lebanese Tahini sauce made with only a handful of vegan ingredients. This sauce is so easy to put together. All you need is tahini paste, lemon juice, garlic, a pinch of salt and water to thin it out! What makes this sauce so wonderful, is how creamy and delicious it is, while being dairy-free. It has a nutty flavor with a lemony garlic punch to it.

Tahini paste is just toasted sesame seeds that have been ground with oil, just like how nut butters are made. Similar to nut butter, tahini paste requires some vigorous mixing before it can be poured out of the container. The oil and sesame separate, with the oil rising to the top so, a bit of mixing and you should be good to go! Tahini can be found at most local supermarkets and even stores like Target and Walmart, as it has become very popular in all kinds of cooking.

What to eat Tarator with

Tarator is incredibly versatile and can be used so much more than is traditionally is called for. You may recognize tarator from a few iconic street foods, beef shawarma and falafel. The sauce is prepared and drizzled on top when in a platter or served in pita bread.

Some non-traditional ways to enjoy tarator is as a dressing. It would be delicious served on top of Middle-Eastern inspired bowls or salads with chicken or even seafood. It is even quite delicious served with roasted vegetables like my rainbow carrots with tarator recipe.

And here is a Middle-eastern twist to a fall recipe, this sumac roasted acorn squash is drizzled with tarator, a tahini dressing.

STEP 1

Tarator is often prepared by hand using a bowl and whisk. However, if you would like to prepare a larger quantity, feel free to use a food processor or blender.

If preparing by hand, crush the garlic using a mortar and pestle.

STEP 2

Add the tahini paste, lemon juice, salt and water and whisk thoroughly until silky smooth.

Tahini paste has a very strange texture when you first begin to whisk it.

You will notice it starts to get thicker and clumpy but, just keep whisking, and it will get silky and smooth.