basic tehina sauce

Tehina, or tahini, sauce is considered a basic building block in the Middle East, and is so versatile that once you master it, there are many things you can do with it. As you blend the tahini, it will thicken and seize, and as it does, just add a few tablespoons of cold water until the creamy emulsion returns.

Ingredients

3 cloves garlic, peeled, halved and sprouts removed
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons lemon juice (about 1½ lemon)
½ to ¾ teaspoon sea or kosher salt
1 cup of tahini (seasame seed paste) – I prefer Once Again Unsweetned & Unsalted
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
¾ cup ice water
½ teaspoon sea or kosher salt, optional

Equipment:  Vitamix or blender

Instructions

1. Using a pestle, mash the garlic in a mortar, and add the lemon juice.  Allow to sit for 10 minutes to let the garlic mellow.  Pour mixture into the blender, add the salt, tahini and cumin.

2. Blend the mixture together, adding the ice water a few tablespoons at a time.  The sauce will lighten in color as you blend.  When the tehina seizes up or tightens, keep adding ice water, bit by bit, blending until you have a smooth, creamy, thick sauce.

3. Taste, and add up to an additional half-teaspoon of salt, and more cumin, if desired.  If you’re not using the tehina sauce immediately, blend in a few additional tablespoons of cold water to loosen it before refrigerating.  Sauce will keep a week in the refrigerator, or in the freezer for up to a month.

This recipe qualifies for the whole-food plant-based (WFPB) designation, meaning that it is made of only of whole plant foods and does not contain any extracted ingredients, such as sugar or oil, that would damage the body’s endothelium (the inner most lining of the arteries).