Tahini Savory And Sweet

Tahini is a staple in Middle Eastern cooking and baking.It adds so much to main meals and sweets, giving them a unique flavor and certain creaminess. What's great too is that home chefs can experiment with it, incorporating it into all sorts of recipes.

Yotam Ottolenghi extolled its' virtues in an article plus recipes in yesterday's New York Times Food section. Tahini is n ancient dish, from the Arabic and it means to grind.It's also prevalent not only in Greek cuisine but surprisingly Vietnamese and Southeast Asian as well. It can be made it home, using hulled sesame seeds and olive oil. If not, look in Middle Eastern shops or online. The best according t Chef Ottolenghi is the Al Arz from Israel and Al Taj from Lebanon. He also recommends the  famed "camel tahini" Al-Jamal from Palestine. There is also the Jebrini brand, one of the oldest manufactured, from Israel, made in East Jerusalem. The third  generation of this 130 year old business use the best sesame seeds from the coveted humera variety of Ethiopia. Then the seeds are hulled and hand ground in old millstones, that are 200 years old. Tahini manufacturers are not that careful, allowing for hulls and over roasting - which leads to a bitter tasting spread.

Tahini can be used in both savory and sweet recipes. A Palestinian main course is lamb siniyah, where the condiment is poured over cooked lamb and then baked in the oven. The tahini is baked into a thickly, rich crust, like the mashed potatoes topping a shepherd's pie.It can also be made into a tasty dressing to be served over a tomato and cucumber salad. Try it on any barbecued chicken or steaks this barbecue season. Tahini goes well with sweets too, and Chef Ottolenghi gives two dessert recipes. The first is a sesame, date and banana cake  enriched by a tahini -cream cheese icing. This last is definitely healthier than the regular cream cheese icing, because it doesn't have all that confectioner's sugar.There's marscapone cheese and brown sugar for tartness and flavor. Two tablespoons of sesame seeds are in the fruit rich cake along with three tablespoons of tahini.It laso is the star of Chef Ottolenghi's oat and tahini cookies.A quarter of a cup of it is mixed in with oats, dark brown sugar and hazelnuts.Melted dark chocolate is drizzled on top of these gems for added decadence.

Tahini is definitely a worth try in both savory and sweet dishes. Try it drizzled over barbecue chicken or a tomato salad.Use it in an icing or as a boost to cookies. It's delicious , adding oomph to any dish.

A New Writer

The New York Times Food section has a new writer. Yotam Ottalenghi has joined the staff and with him will undoubtedly come interesting and fun recipes. Today's article will be no different with his spins on dessert. He gives cooking and creating an exotic vibe - perfect for the multicultural and always exciting Food section.

Chef Ottolenghi is much more than a cook. He's an entrepreneur. Visit his website and be dazzled by what's sold there. There are handmade heart shaped lollipops, seaweed and lavoosh  a kind of Armenian bread. There is also  a whole section of recipes.from starters to vegetarian from desserts to savory. His is a website that's hard to leave. He is a Jerusalem-born chef who studied at the London based Le Cordon Bleu and started with the first Ottolenghi deli n Knightsbridge, His cooking and recipes are a combination of Middle eastern, Syrian, Israeli, Armenian Lebanese, Turkish and Iranian. His cookbooks, such as Jerusalem reflect this with its' recipes of life. Today his premiere article is all about desserts and they have a Middle Eastern vibe. He promises more and more recipes with ingredients such as tahini along with spices and lemons, staples of Eastern Mediterranean cooking.Save his will be for interesting desserts to give dinners a  real eye opening finish.

Today's recipes are different, and not your typical dessert ones. Chef Ottalenghi gives us a refreshing granita. Like many Middle eastern desserts,it has rose petals along with pomegranate seeds and Pom juice.Mint is added for a refreshing bite. It's cooking everything down into a syrup and then straining it. As with a coffee granita, the liquid is frozen for two to three hours.a fork is used to separate the clumps and then  it'refrozen for two more hours. It's then scraped again  with the fork times being dragged across the top. This process is repeated  until the liquid is frozen into separate crystals throughout  which will take an extra eight to ten hours.Another  exotic sweet is pastry nests with poached pears, feta and saffron cream. This is an exotic take on classic poached pears with the nests made from kataifi pastry. or shredded phylo dough, These are spaghetti like strands that nestle the fruit. The pear , itself, is poached with such spices as cardamon , cinnamon, star anise, and a pinch of saffron. The saffron is also  added to the cream made with feta and a mix of mascarpone cheese and heavy cream.Slivered pistachios are aprinkled on top for crunch and texture.

Chef Ottolenghi is going to be a fun and fascinating fixture at the Food section. He'll bring a new vibe to dessert making, infusing classic recipes with a Middle eastern vibe. It'll be not just delicious sweets but ones full of flavor too.