Tahini

Tahini is a power food produced from ground sesame seeds and is considered a unique dietary treasure featuring a multitude of nutrients that are highly beneficial to our health.

Tahini is an oily paste made from toasted ground hulled sesame seeds. It has the same texture as peanut butter, but is a healthier alternative. Although both pastes contain a similar number of calories and fat per serving, classic tahini is preferred because it doesn’t include any salt or sugar.

Ancient Greeks would serve a mixture of tahini and honey at weddings, and Hippocrates and Galen recommended it for medicinal purposes.

Tahini is a key component for tahinosoupa, a vegetarian soup with tahini and orzo or vegetables, and of course local hummus and Macedonian halva.

We also use it in soups and sauces, as a substitute for avgolemono (the mixture of egg and lemon used to thicken soups and sauces), in salad dressings, instead of margarine or butter on bread, and even in fasting pastries and baked goods such as tahinopites (tahini pie) and tahinopsomo (tahini bread). It is a perfect companion to honey, hot cocoa beverages, and instant coffee and is a standard addition to many recipes.

Source: My Little Greek Foodbook
Photo: onmed.gr