Tahini Sauce with Clementines, Smoked Paprika and Pizazz!
A couple of weeks ago I made maple tofu skewers for a BBQ supper. They were a roaring success, as was the tahini sauce with clementines and smoked paprika that I made to accompany it. This recipe is another in my Flavours of the Middle East series.
When it comes to lemons, I try to buy organic as I invariably use the zest as well as the juice; organic are the only ones I trust not to be sprayed with all sorts of nasties. For some reason I’ve been unable to get any for ages. In a side-step move, CT recently bought me home a bag of organic clementines. OK, they’re not quite a replacement for lemons, but they did get me thinking. I almost never use clementines in my cooking.
Tahini sauce is a classic Middle Eastern accompaniment to a variety of dishes, but is probably most often encountered slathered over falafel. The sauce is invariably made with lemons, but I could see it might be rather nice with a different sort of citrus for a change. I swapped the lemon juice for that of clementines and for an extra citrus note, I grated in the zest. As I made this for a BBQ, I thought a touch of smokiness would echo the flavour of the hot coals, so smoked paprika also went into the mix.
The resulting creamy sauce was aromatic, slightly sweet with the requisite smoky notes. A sauce with pizazz – job done. You can spoon tahini sauce over BBQ grills, as we did, drizzle it over falafel and salads or just spread it on bread or crackers. Make it slightly less runny and you have a fabulous vegan dip. Alternatively, eat it straight from the spoon – we might have done this too.
- 1 tbsp tahini (light or dark depending on preference)
- 1 organic clementine - zest and juice
- pinch of sea or rock salt (I used Himalayan pink)
- ¼ tsp smoked paprika
- 2-3 tbsp warm water
- edible flowers to decorate (optional)
- Make sure the tahini is well mixed before removing from the jar.
- Place into a bowl and add all of the ingredients except the warm water.
- Stir until well mixed, then whisk in the water bit by bit until you have the consistency you're looking for. It will firm up as it cools, so it's best to add a little more water than you think you need.
- Pour into a serving bowl or jug and decorate with edible flowers if liked.
- Scale up the quantities as required.
Tahini sauce always takes me back to my time spent with family in Egypt. I was seventeen when I first went out and tahini was a completely new ingredient to me. I had great difficulty sourcing it when I came back to the UK, but these days you can find it pretty much everywhere – hooray! This makes it a prime candidate for Inheritance Recipes which is hosted over at Coffee and Vanilla and Pebble Soup.Recipes using tahini you might like that aren’t actual tahini sauce
- Chocolate mashed potato cake with tahini drizzle via Veggie Desserts
- Chocolate tahini crunch bars via A virtual Vegan
- Date tahini smoothie via Rough Measures
- Easy vegan quesadillas via Vegan Heaven
- Halva biscuits via Tin and Thyme
- Roasted vegetable quinoa via Harriet Emily
- Sesame seed rice krispie treats via Wallflower Kitchen
- Sesame truffles via Tin and Thyme
- Tahini caramel buckwheat balls via Delicious Everyday
- Tahini celeriac potato salad via Strength and Sunshine
- Tahini chocolate granola bars via Veggie Inspired
- White chocolate halva flapjacks via Tin and Thyme
And don’t miss the video 5 ways to use tahini over at Nadia’s Healthy Kitchen
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Angie@Angie's Recipes
10th July 2016
Though tahini is not new to me, I hardly use it in sauce. This sounds really nice paired with orange and smoked paprika.
Choclette
11th July 2016
Tahini makes a fabulous sauce or salad dressing Angie, but this was the first time I’ve ever paired it with oranges. It worked very well.
Margot
10th July 2016
What a lovely summery flavours!! Thank you for sharing with Inheritance Recipes.
Choclette
11th July 2016
Thanks Margot. We’ve got the summer flavours, some actual summer would be nice 😉
Pebble Soup
10th July 2016
This indeed makes you a “prime suspect” for our challenge. I would have never thought of adding clementine to tahini though know I think about it, it makes perfect sense. A lot of citruses are used in middle-eastern cuisine not only lemons. Thanks for joining us this month.
Choclette
11th July 2016
Thanks Solange. Yes indeed, citrus is very popular in the Middle East though I suspect there might be some tutting going on at my irreverent use of it 😉
Dom
10th July 2016
what a beautiful photo with the pretty chive flowers and that sauce with the clementines and smoked paprika… oooh yes!
Choclette
11th July 2016
Thanks Dom. I’m a sucker for Middle Eastern flavours, but it’s nice to play around with them too.
Chris @thinlyspread
10th July 2016
Oh this sounds amazing! I’m totally addicted to smoked paprika at the moment and I bet it goes really well with clementines! I also have tahini to hand at all times – it’s just fab.
Choclette
11th July 2016
Isn’t it just Chris. Have you tried black tahini? I had a jar once and was a bit nonplussed, but I think it’s probably time to try it again.
Nayna Kanabar
10th July 2016
A really interesting combination of Ingredients. I wonder what it tastes like???
Choclette
11th July 2016
Haha, thank Nayna. It tastes delicious of course 😉
munchies and munchkins
11th July 2016
This sounds incredible Choclette, wow. Love clementine and the chive flowers look so pretty.
Choclette
11th July 2016
Ah, thanks Rebecca. I just got the last few chive flowers before they all went over.
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
11th July 2016
Tahini is my FAVORITE….so is smoked paprika 😉
Choclette
11th July 2016
Well hopefully you’d cope with the clementines too Rebecca and relish this sauce 😉
Lucie @bctinykitchen
11th July 2016
I love a tahini sauce and this one looks delicious. I would be tempted to add it to some cabbage and carrots etc as an alternative coleslaw dressing.
Choclette
11th July 2016
Yes absolutely, I agree it would make a fab coleslaw dressing Lucie 🙂
Laura@howtocookgoodfood
11th July 2016
This sauce would go with so many of the salads and grilled veggie dishes I love to eat and would give them a new lease of life and I also love tahini as an ingredient
Choclette
11th July 2016
It’s definitely good over grilled vegetables Laura. Thank goodness for sesame seeds 🙂
Emma @ Supper in the Suburbs
11th July 2016
My OH loves tahini. I feel like I have to buy a whole new jar every time I make hummus because he attacks it with a spoon! He’d absolutely love this. Will be giving it a go 🙂
Choclette
11th July 2016
Oh I hope he likes it Emma, though it’s hard to imagine a tahini lover not liking it 😉
Poppy
12th July 2016
This sounds so fresh Choclette!
Choclette
14th July 2016
Thanks Poppy. It’s lovely, zingy and cream at the same time.
Kate - gluten free alchemist
13th July 2016
Clever citrus switch Choclette. I love the sound of oranges instead of lemons. I would imagine this sauce may also go well with roasted veg or even fish?
Choclette
14th July 2016
Thanks Kate. Fish I couldn’t comment on, but it goes rally well with roasted vegetables 🙂