Tahini: The Peanut Butter of the Middle East

The problem with recipe testing is the heterogeneous array of ingredients one accumulates. At this very moment I am the proud owner of eight types of flour: all-purpose, bread, whole-wheat, white whole-wheat, pastry, rice flour, almond meal (used in place of flour) and for some unknown reason, the self-rising variety. And that’s just one ingredient!
My cupboards are lined with a plethora of grains, nuts and seeds to meet every dietary preference imaginable. And who could live without six types of vinegar? Not me, obviously. So, every so often I absolutely refuse to go to the market and instead search for recipes to use up my over abundance of goods.
This month I’ve been on a mission to empty my one-pound jar of tahini. The baba ghanoush it was originally purchased for used a whopping two tablespoons. Half a cup was used in both the beef shawarma and what is politely referred to as “that fish disaster” … and I’ve still got half a jar left.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Mideastern staple, tahini is a thick paste made from ground sesame seeds. It looks a lot like peanut butter but with an intense, nutty taste; in other words, a little goes a long way. And while I do like the flavor, it is a bit unusual and not something that I routinely crave. (Which is what makes it perfect to highlight for Around the World Week!)
Tahini is quite versatile; it goes well with fish, pork, chicken and beef. Garlic and lemon are a couple of its best accoutrements, but it also goes well with honey or pomegranate molasses. It is rich in vitamin B and E, plus it contains more protein than milk and most nuts, so I wasn’t about to let it go to waste.
I found that a little sesame-seed paste spread across a plump medjool date made for a great snack. Kale salad tossed with a tahini dressing was a nice change of pace from the usual oil-and-vinegar collaborations. But neither helped much in the way of completing the task of using up all the tahini, so my search continued.
A Paleo-friendly egg salad required another two tablespoons and even made the non-cavemen types grunt with approval. But the coupe de grace for the one-pounder was a cookie recipe. And not just any cookie recipe, but a super-healthy, gluten-free treat that can also accommodate those vegan friends!

My quest took my taste buds on a little Mideastern vacation and now that the jar is empty I feel a little sad. No worries though; next month I plan to take an imaginary visit to Indonesia and use up that fiery red sambal oelek that’s been sitting in the fridge. Wish me luck!
Did you find ways to use that “special ingredient” or is it still looking for a home?  —Karen