It’s not a competition, but I eat more tahini than anyone
It’s me, Tanya. I’m back from vacation! Sorry, it’s not, and that was a cruel joke — still Becky here. But I promise you’ll get her back next week, and all will be right with the world. Now that I’ve fooled you into being my captive audience, here’s something about me: I’ve always found it babyish to declare a favorite food, like a favorite color or a favorite animal. There’s nuance in the ways we relate to these things, isn’t there? But someone asked me recently if I had a favorite ingredient, and I didn’t skip a beat before saying: It’s tahini. No nuance about that. I’ve bought nearly every brand of it on the market (Wirecutter, call me any time) and used it in nearly every application — substituted in for peanut butter in cookies, whipped into a fluffy sauce underneath roasted carrots and drizzled over cranberry sauce on my Thanksgiving table. In that spirit, here are some recipes, new and old, that will sate my fellow tahini fiends. And if you’re not yet on board, they just might convert you. Can we start with dessert first? Mostly because I’m so excited about two new recipes. First, these tahini Krispie chocolate bars from Yossy Arefi. The base is a clever riff on Rice Krispies treats, with tahini mixed into the butter-marshmallow mixture and a two-to-one ratio of cereal to graham cracker crumbs, all of which turns the texture into something more dense, reminiscent of halvah. Another new treat, this one from the lovely Samantha Seneviratne, is this tahini and chocolate chunk cake, a yellow snacking case that folds tahini into the batter for richness and nuttiness. It’s got semisweet chocolate chunks and sesame seeds throughout, and it’s already a hit in the comments section. Tahini and Chocolate Chunk CakeMelissa Clark’s chocolate tahini mousse isn’t so new, but it deserves all the attention as the Most Perfect Dinner Party Dessert. Tahini mousse and chocolate mousse are elegantly swirled together and topped with candied cacao nibs, though one commenter suggested crumbled halvah on top, which sounds just as great to me. Now, for the joys of tahini for dinner. A sauce is an obvious starting point, and this vegan green goddess dressing from Ali Slagle is fantastic in so many applications. Tahini is blended with lots of herbs, some olive oil, a clove of garlic, a splash of apple cider vinegar and a bit of soy sauce for umami. I love to serve it as a dip, sort of a mellower version of this spicy green tahini dip. How about in soup? When used in place of Chinese or Japanese sesame pastes, tahini adds similar richness and even more creaminess to the broth in Hetty Lui McKinnon’s vegan tantanmen with pan-fried tofu. It’s mixed with soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, sugar and chile oil for the soup base, divided between bowls and topped with hot broth, bouncy ramen noodles and slabs of crispy tofu. Alternatively, tahini thickens this hummus soup with crispy chickpeas, possibly the most satisfying vegan soup there is — especially when topped with crushed pita chips and, you guessed it, more tahini. Finally, I’ll leave you with my holy grail: sweet potatoes with tahini butter. The spuds are steamed, becoming fluffy and buttery on their own, and then filled with a tahini-butter mixture with sesame oil to double down on the nuttiness, and topped with toasted sesame seeds and a squeeze of lime. Electric, I tell you! As promised, more from Tanya next week. Thanks for having me!
Vegan Green Goddess Dressing
Hummus Soup With Crispy Chickpeas
Sweet Potatoes With Tahini ButterFor a limited time, you can enjoy free access to the recipes in this newsletter in our app. Download it on your iOS or Android device and create a free account to get started. One More Thing!BLEAK: Asking chatbots what to eat. CHIC: I saw Rebekah Peppler putting vegetables in her cocktails, so I put vegetables in my cocktails. Email us at theveggie@nytimes.com. Newsletters are archived here. Reach out to my colleagues at cookingcare@nytimes.com if you have questions about your account.
|
