Tahini salad is a Middle Eastern thing. If you visit the Middle East, you will find this in all the restaurants. In Jordan, Tahini salad means tomato salad with a lemon tahini dressing. The salad is very simple, but it’s well-loved in the region and sometimes it’s eaten on its own with some pita bread. It’s usually added to falafel sandwiches made with pita bread, so if you go to any falafel shop in Jordan and order a sandwich they will put some tahini salad in your sandwich. I also make this tahini salad to add to my chickpea falafel burger recipe as a topping. It’s naturally vegan and so delicious! As I’m making this tahini salad to add to my falafel burgers or falafel sandwiches, I like to keep the tahini dressing a bit thick to make it easier to eat and for things not to get so messy. However, if I was to serve this salad on its own with some pita bread then I will add more cold water to the lemon tahini dressing, give it a good mix and make it more watery. If you would like to eat this salad with some bread, you will basically dip the bread in the tahini dressing and scoop out the salad with it. Yes, it’s eaten with hands!
TAHINI SALAD INGREDIENTS
You need very simple ingredients to make this Middle Eastern tahini salad.
Tomato, and cucumber.Tahini – sesame paste.Lemon juice and cold water.Ground black pepper, and salt.Parsley for garnish.
HOW TO MAKE TAHINI DRESSING
Tahini salad dressing is probably my favourite kind of dressing. It goes very well with many different salads and I absolutely love the flavour of tahini when paired with lemon and salt. To make a tahini dressing, you will need tahini paste, lemon juice, salt, and ground black pepper. Black pepper is optional, and you will also need some ice cold water. In a bowl, mix all the ingredients together. The tahini mixture will become watery, then it will shrink, and then again it will become a bit loose while you mix. If your tahini dressing is too thick, add a little bit of cold water and mix again. This tahini dressing goes very well with kale quinoa salad, roasted cauliflower salad or a simple chickpea salad. I also like to drizzle it over falafel bowls.
MIDDLE EASTERN TAHINI SALAD
To make the salad, chop tomato and cucumber (the cucumber is optional). Then add in the tahini dressing and give the salad a good mix. As you can see in the pictures, the tahini dressing looks thin but you will only notice this when you mix the dressing with the tomatoes. Because of the juice of the tomatoes, the tahini dressing will be easy to mix in. If you’re making this tahini dressing to add to a different kind of salad, then just add more cold water and mix until you reach the desired consistency. If you like tahini as much as I do, then give this aubergine/eggplant dip a try, it’s called Mutabbal and it’s one of my all-time favourite dishes. © Little Sunny Kitchen
