Sesame butter

In a previous post I wrote about edamame, I provided a recipe for edamame hummus with a homemade version of a particular key ingredient. Do you remember what it was?…. Well, I’ll tell you. It was tahini. You may have heard of tahini, but not know what it is.

Tahini is a smooth, creamy paste made from ground hulled sesame seeds. While hummus is commonly made with tahini, the sesame paste is also used in many other Middle Eastern, North African, and Turkish dishes, like baba ganoush and goddess dressing (not to be confused with green goddess dressing, which is an herby ranch dressing). Goddess dressing is a salty, soy-sauce based salad dressing emulsified with tahini.

If you’re looking for a rich, but healthy sauce to serve over your roast chicken or grilled tilapia, tahini is the perfect nutty complement. With bold sesame as the base, sauces are well balanced against their acid components, such as white wine. And of course since tahini is made purely of sesame seeds, and a little salt, any time we use the peanut butter look-alike we get all the nutritional benefits of these tiny seeds.

Sesame seeds, although small and unassuming, are extremely wholesome. Full of heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, protein, and fiber, these seeds are a dieter’s best friend as they help ward off hunger. Plant-based antioxidants sesamol and sesaminol are in there too, along with significant amounts of calcium, magnesium, manganese, selenium, copper, zinc, folic acid, niacin, and riboflavin. All of the aforementioned vitamins and minerals contribute to the maintenance of bone and heart health, nourishing the body throughout.

Think that the tahini used in that store-bought hummus you just brought home won’t do the trick? Well, think again. Every little bit counts, and the more you include tahini or sesame seeds into your recipes, the more you’ll reap the benefits.