Tahina is a pure, unprocessed, raw sesame paste. It is roasted and ground sesame seeds that have been soaked in water and then strained to make a paste.

Sesame has been used in Middle Eastern cooking for centuries for its flavor and its nutritional properties. Tahina is a great source of calcium, iron, zinc, and copper.

Tahina also contains protein and vitamin E, two nutrients that are essential to good health.

Tahina is not just for Middle Eastern cooking. It is a great addition to any dish. Tahina has a unique aroma that is nutty and slightly bitter, but it has a very subtle flavor.

You can use tahina as a sauce or topping. It has the consistency of peanut butter so it can also be used as a spread on bread or crackers. Tahina is also great for dipping and spreading on vegetable sticks.

Tahina makes an excellent dip for raw veggies and roasted vegetables as well as an incredible salad dressing. I love to drizzle it over my salads and fresh vegetables.

I also like to spread tahina on my grilled vegetables, or dip them in it before I grill them for a nice smoky nutty flavor.

Tahina also makes a great spread or topping for pizza, pasta, sandwiches, toast, or pita bread. You can also use tahina in your favorite Middle Eastern recipes to give a unique flavor and nutritional boost to your favorite dishes.

I love to use tahina as part of my Middle Eastern Dip Party Platter when I have guests over. I serve hummus, babaganoush, tabbouleh, and this awesome tahina dip with homemade pita chips or crackers and homemade pickles. Everyone always enjoys this platter!

How to Make Baba Ghanoush

1 large eggplant

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 cup lemon juice (about 1 large lemon)

freshly ground black pepper (optional)

paprika (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil and lightly grease with olive oil or cooking spray. Wash the eggplant and slice into 1/2 inch slices lengthwise without cutting all the way through the eggplant so that they look like little boats. Scoop out the pulp in the center leaving about 1/2 inch of flesh on each side of each boat-like slice of eggplant flesh so that you have a hollowed out shell with flesh still surrounding it on each side. Place these hollowed out eggplant boats on the prepared baking sheet in one even layer with their flesh side up. Bake for 20 minutes until soft when pierced with a fork or toothpick in the center of one of the slices. Remove from oven and let cool until they are easy to handle but still warm enough that you can scoop out the soft pulp easily with a spoon without burning yourself since they are still kind of hot at this point from being baked in the oven! You want them to be soft enough that you can scoop out their flesh easily but not so hot that they’re too hot to handle! Transfer the soft eggplant pulp into a colander set over a bowl while you prepare the rest of your ingredients so any excess juices drain off while you prepare your baba ghanoush ingredients! Prepare your baba ghanoush ingredients by adding all ingredients except for olive oil, lemon juice, black pepper and paprika to a small food processor or blender and process until smooth! Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and process again until smooth! Add lemon juice, black pepper if desired and paprika if desired then blend again briefly until well combined! Taste test your mixture….it should taste good at this point (I think it tastes amazing just like this right after blending!) but if it needs more seasoning add more cumin, salt or lemon juice as needed then blend again briefly until well combined! Transfer baba ghanoush into serving bowl then drizzle with additional olive oil if desired then garnish with some paprika if desired then serve immediately…..or let chill in refrigerator for up to 3 days then serve chilled! Enjoy!!! 🙂

Tips: If you don’t have an eggplant that’s big enough just cut two smaller ones in half lengthwise instead of cutting one big one in half lengthwise….this way you’ll get four boats instead of two of course (if using two small whole eggplants instead of one big one)! Also this is not meant to be an exact recipe….you may need more or less cumin depending on how much baba ghanoush you’re making as well as depending on how strong your food processor or blender is….you may need more or less olive oil depending on how much baba ghanoush you’re making…..you may need more or less lemon juice depending on how lemony you like it….etc etc etc…..do not follow exactly what my ingredients list says…use common sense here…and use your intuition too….experimenting is what cooking is all about right? 🙂

For Vegan Baba Ghanoush: Omit cheese…obviously… 😀

Sesame Tuna Salad Sandwich

about 6-8 ounces water packed tuna (not oil packed tuna)

1/4 cup thinly sliced celery hearts (about 2 stalks)

1/4 cup thinly sliced red radishes (about 2 radishes)

3 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions (scallions)

3 tablespoons tahina sauce (sesame seed paste) *see notes*

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil *see notes*

sea salt & freshly ground black pepper (to taste; optional) *see notes*

fresh parsley leaves (garnish; optional; reserve 1 teaspoon chopped parsley leaves for recipe) *see notes*

6-8 slices whole grain bread *see notes*

3-4 tablespoons butter *see notes*

Mix together tuna, celery hearts, radishes, green onions, tahina sauce, extra virgin olive oil & seasonings together in medium bowl if desired then set aside until ready to assemble sandwiches! Mix together parsley leaves & reserved chopped parsley together in small bowl then set aside until ready to assemble sandwiches! Toast 6-8 slices whole grain bread under broiler then slather butter onto each slice of toast generously then place under broiler again until butter melts and starts browning slightly & sizzling! Remove from oven & turn broiler off then spread tuna salad onto 4 slices of toast evenly then top each serving with another slice of toast spread some parsley mixture onto each slice & top sandwich off with another slice of bread & cut sandwich diagonally before serving……enjoy!!! 🙂 Notes: You can change this up by using cucumbers instead of celery hearts! You can also use any other radishes other than red radishes if red radishes aren’t available…or even use carrot sticks instead if you want! You can also swap pine nuts for slivered almonds if desired…or omit nuts altogether…or swap raisins for dried cranberries if desired…or omit dried fruit altogether…or swap fresh chopped chives instead of green onion…etc etc etc……the possibilities are endless!!! 🙂 For best flavor make sandwich components when ready to assemble sandwiches otherwise all components will get soggy especially since there’s no lettuce involved here so be sure everything is ready when assembling sandwiches otherwise enjoy sandwich components separately at different times ;D Tahina is sesame seed paste….it’s similar to peanut butter in texture only much better