Lighter Meatballs For Spring

 Meatballs can be heavy, often thought of as being a winter dish,. Yet they can be made much lighter for The warmer months (along with making for great appetizers)Just sub in the turkey for beef and enjoy a lighter fare,

New contributor and famed nutritionist Samantha Cassetty gave this recipe for the Italian classic in today's New York Times  Wednesday Food section, These are low sodium healthy meatballs. Yes, they can go with a pasta, preferably an Anglia e olio one where the flavor would add to the simple sauce. They would also be great appetizers for an Easter brunch on their own. She keeps the sodium at a mere below 760 milligrams of salt, This is a third below of the required daily intake. However what they lack in saltiness, they do make up in flavor. Ms. Cassetty. There is za.atar , that spicy Middle Eastern blend and ground pepper. To give it some saltiness kosher salt, which is larger in grain size than table salt can be used.It contains less sodium too. Garlic and parsley will give the meatballs some flavor too. As for the sauce latter try a mix of Greek yogurt and tahini. How it;s served can be varied.Stuff a couple into a toasted pita or serve with brown rice or bulgar;A side of garlicky greens sauteed in olive soil is a nice since.

Is it hard to make meatballs? NO.This is a great recipe for novice home chefs. These are baked in a 400 degree Farenheit oven which is better than frying them (although they can be air fried too).What gives the meatballs their silkiness and flavor is the mix of yogurt tahini and garlic, bright with a squeeze of lemon juice. One egg is whisked into this and then the ground turkey is added. The spices such a  as za'atar is added a long with the parsley. Use just a teaspoon of the kosher salt and a few grinds of fresh pepper.Hands  should be oiled before rolling the meat into balls.Use two tablespoons of the meat mixture to make around eighteen balls. Place them on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake about ten minutes Drizzle the cooked meatballs with yogurt, tahini and lemon juice mixture and garnish with the remaining parsley.Consider these for a great Easter brunch appetizer or even at a shower.

These low salt turkey meatballs are a great alternative to the beef ones. Make them for a lighter Spring fare. They're perfect with pasta or with pita.

A Spicy Sauce To Chase The Chill Away

 There's nothing like a fiery bite to chase away the winter chill. We need something hot to warm us right down to our fingers and toes. There's a new sauce that provides this spark - the Mighty Sesame Company's new harissa spiked tahini sauce.

The Mighty Sesame Company creates everything with sesame seeds - namely tahini, the creamy sauce used in Greek and Mediterranean cooking. They're known for their tahini bars but have recently expanded into sauces. The harissa flavor is new and represents how important tahini is in Middle Eastern and North African  cooking. Harissa is a Tunisian hot chili pepper paste made up of red pepper  and garlic pastes, caraway and cumin. It is fiery but can be tempered with the addition of olive oil, or in this case tahini, the crushed sesame sauce.

It's the  sauce to put on Gardein's chicken tenders, giving them some spark and zing. It's a nice change up from barbecue or hot sauce and I plan on using the harissa tahini again on them. I can even see it in a pita stuffed with chicken or steak shawarma. The Mighty sesame sauce will definitely be added to plain hummus too to zing it up and will be part of a dressing , mixed with a touch of olive oil.

It's biting cold outside. Warm your palate with  The Mighty Sesame Company's harissa tahini. It's a great addition to any dish, from chicken tenders to hummus. 

The Chocolate Guide Part Two

Tomorrow is the biggest day of the year for chocolate. Yet what's the best to get and what can you make with it? There are a number of different brands and a delicious amount of recipes. Any home baker can create a tasty treat for his or her beloved.


Yesterday Melissa Clark wrote a very informative article in yesterday's New York Times Food section. Readers got to understand the bean to bar movement along with the difference between a bean to bar chocolate maker and a chocolatier. She also explained the cacao percentage and why some 74 percent bitter chocolate is not as bitter as one at 64 percent. There were fascinating comparisons between what African chocolate and South American chocolate tasted like.Yet which brands are the best? She wrote a sidepiece on the best kinds along with some interesting recipes. Of course the best is Valrhona which is also what's known as a B company which requires them to have a positive impact on its' community, its' workers and the environment.One of the oldest is Kahkow now in Brooklyn, started in the Dominican Republic in 1905. There is also Dandelion the up and coming San Francisco chocolate comapny that only has two ingredients cacao and sugar. The big cities such as New Orleans, Boston and Los Angeles all have good chocolatiers such as Acalli, Taza and Letterpress but also out of the way areas also are producing excellent bean to bar creations. There is Fruition, way up in the Catskills and Dick Taylor's tucked away in Eureka, California. Sudbury Mass gives us Goodnow, a chocolatier that blends in maple syrup in their bars.

There are some amazing recipes too. For a truly romantic dessert try Ms Clark's chocolate tahini mousse. It's actually a parfait blend off chocolate and tahini. The second is a tangy mix of the condiment and creme fraiche. The chocolate one is a mix of bittersweet chocolate mixed with an unusual ingredient for mousses - confectioner's sugar. Heavy cream is added to both for body and texture. You can also put candied cacao nibs on for decoration. Then there are the cookies. One is cocoa nib sables with flaky sea salt.It is a lush recipe calling for one cup European cultured butter and cocoa nibs. Think a French version of a chocolate chip that's drizzled with dark chocolate and sprinkled with flaky sea salt like Malden. Another must bake is bittersweet brownie shortbread  - a layering of the best of flavors.The shortbread is the classic recipe calling for one and a half cups of unsalted butter while the brownie is also the traditional recipe. The shortbread is first baked as the brownie mix is created.Then the brownie is slathered on the cookie , sort of like a brownie pie or tart. The whole thing is baked for another half hour before it's cut into bars,

What to get your sweetie? A creamy mousse or mouth watering cookies and bars would fill the bill. What a great way to celebrate sweet love?

Fatteh A Savory Reuse Of Pits

 What do you do with leftover bread? You could go sweet and turn it into a lush bread pudding with caramel sauce . Or you could go savory  and turn it into a tasty baked and puffy dinner. Or for the more adventurous  try a chickpea and herb fatteh. This hot and exotic dish is perfect for using up leftover pita bread.

Famed chef and bread lover Yottem Ottolenghi created this tasty recipe for yesterday's New York Times Food section. It's a popular dish throughout the Mideast but it's hard to define, according to Chef Ottolenghi. It is a layering dish using stale plain or whole wheat pita. There are vegetarian versions like his while others contain lamb. Some versions may have tahini and yogurt. One, fattet djaj, has bread, shredded chicken, whole chicken a, layer of yogurt and then topped off with a layer of pine nuts. In Gaza, a think flatbread called saj or makouk dipped in stock which is often loaded with garlic , chilies, and lemon, Freshly cooked rice and toasted nuts top it. It's then finished off with cook chicken or other meats.However ingredients just aren't limited to those. You can add eggplant or tomatoes , broad beans to different pulses like lentils and green peas.

Chef Ottolenghi's fatteh has chickpeas along with the zingy za'atar along with various greens such as chives, parsley and fresh cilantro. Flavoring also comes from garlic and toasted cumin seeds. It's a bit labor intensive with the chickpeas being soaked with baking soda in cold water overnight.Afterwards they're drained and cooked in water with more baking soda. They're then cooked for twenty minutes after which Kosher salt is added. While the chickpeas are cooking, the pita is tossed with olive oil and the za'atar and pepper.This is laid out on a parchment lined baking sheet until golden and crisp. At this point there tahini to be made which is easy and also the chili oil - another easy make. After puree 2/3 chickpeas with lemon and herbs, garlic and cumin. Sieve into a bowl. Add the remaining  chickpeas and then layer everything, from the tahini to the chili oil. It can be served with extra pita and toasted pita on the side. You could add shredded rotisserie chicken to make it heartier.

Fatteh is a great way of using up any leftover pita. It's also a tasty way of cooking chickpeas with za'atar and tahini, Try it for a different spin on bread pudding.

Too Hot To Cook

We are in the middle of a heat wave. Temps will raise in the upcoming weeks. Cooking will be impossible. What to do? Not cook.

In this day and age, it's easy to get take out food. Despite all the uproar about eating burgers and fries,  they're handy and they are filling. What can be done is careful choosing. Luckily all chains list their calories on their online menus. You can choose wisely and have a low calorie, no fuss meal. Burger King offers the Morningstar Farms veggie burger which is only 390 calories. Have their onion rings which are only 150 calories for a small serving. Panera is another chain that delivers and they have healthy choices for the whole family. You can customize  salads with ingredients you like. Try their Caesar salad which is only 390 calories or their garden salad. Toss in some avocado and almonds for more flavor and protein. Panera's sandwiches are also light - perfect for these steamy days. Order a few of their Mediterranean veggie sandwiches. Tasty tomato basil bread holds hummus, and a slew of veggies like tomato , cucumber and onions. A plus is that Panera also has low calorie drinks too. Their iced teas are zero calorie while their prickly pear hibiscus agua fresca is 90 calories for a 20 fluid ounce glass.

Of course you can make no cook dishes. One of the easiest is hummus. It should be made with chickpeas, tahini sauce , garlic and a squirt of lemon juice. It's then mashing it or using an immersion blender to get a creamy texture. Hummus is one of those recipes that can be varied. Since I don't I usually add cannellini beans. Garlic is kept to a minimum and I usually nix the tahini. The flavor is actually milder without all the seasoning and to me more palatable. Cut pita into triangles, and serve with the hummus. If you can stand a little heat , place the pita triangles in a 350 degree F toaster oven for five minutes. Brush both sides with olive oil for a crispy ,crunchy  chip. Other spreads like cream cheese salad can make for a tasty and satisfying dip or sandwich filler. Add chopped green olives and pimentos for color and flavor or minced garlic for tang. Scallions and chives would also make for a colorful addition. The cream cheese spreads would also be perfect for Sunday morning bagels too.Another easy to make spread is bruschetta. Cut up Roma tomatoes and mix with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.Garlic and fresh basil are also added for spice and zest. Serve on slices of Italian bread.

It's hot . It's a chore to cook. Go for the no cooking option for a cool way to eat.

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.

Your Five New Mother Sauces

Sauce - any sauce is an important component in any chef's arsenal. They can liven up a dull  slice of meat or add zing to drab veggies. They can be creamy or chunky, spicy or herbal. Best of all, they're pretty easy to whip up.Even the most novice of cooks can make a decent, flavorful sauce.

Samin Nosrat, a writer and top chef, wrote about the five new "mother" sauces in today's New York Times Food section.The idea is taken from the French with their five main  or "mother" sauces. The famed  19th Century chef Auguste Escoffier  laid out the blueprints for  them in his encyclopedic textbook Le Guide Culinaire published in 1903. (The book is still in publication and can be bought at Amazon.com) He borrowed the sauce recipes from another great French chef of the early 1800's, Antoine Careme,one of the first truly great chefs, from Paris established the basic sauces: bechamel,espagnole,veloute, hollandaise and tomat. Gently tinker with them and voila - an entirely new creation. Add shallots, chervil  peppercorn and tarragon to hollandaise and you have bearnaise. Grated Gruyere stirred into bechamel will create Mornay, the classic cheese sauce that livens up chicken and  savory crepes. Chefs adhered to these sauces and combinations for decades. The only problem with these centuries old gems is that their base is a heavy roux - a mix of butter and flour. The new group of sauces get away from that heaviness with lighter ingredients. They 'll make any meat or veggie a bit livelier , instead of weighing them down.

What are the new sauces? They're not French, instead taking their heritage from the Eastern Mediterranean   Northern Italy and Mexico. Chef Nosrat starts off with a basic herb salsa. This is the most versatile of the sauces because it goes well with the main course and sides. It's  really nothing more than a parsley vinaigrette, sort of like a salsa verde or chimichurra sauce.You  can sub in basil, cilantro,marjoram or even mint for a different spin, The next sauce is a creamy  tahini sauce. This Greek and Arab  classic is made with tahini paste, ground sesame seeds along with one garlic clove.The last is finely grated into the other ingredients.It goes well over fresh tomatoes or sliced cukes but also dresses up chicken and lamb. Yogurt sauce is the third sauce Use the lighter Greek yogurt , blending it with fresh mint, olive oil lime juice and garlic. Drizzle  it on chicken kabobs or roasted eggplant. . There is also the basic pesto sauce. It is the Genovese classic, made with fresh basil, olive oil and pine nuts along with garlic and Parmesan.  Serve on any kind of pasta or added to a pizza. The last is a black pepper salsa. This involves guajillo and arbol chiles mixed with tomatoes and garlic. This sauce can be poured over meats or a spicy addition to any taco or tortilla recipe.

Each of the new "mother" sauces can make any dish better. They''re easy to make, only using a few ingredients to create a delicious addition to any meal. Try them all , Put them in your arsenal They're what you need to create memorable and flavorful recipes.

Welcoming With Food

Many people, including a vast majority in this country tend to view  refugees with a jaundiced eye.Yet, they can contribute so much to a country, including an ancient cuisine that's full of flavor and variety. French chefs know this and they are letting these new arrivals their day - in the kitchen.

Alissa J. Rubin wrote about this phenomena exchange in today's New York Times Food section. The movement is called Les Cuistots Migrateurs or the Migratory Cooks and was created by two innovative and intrepid French entrepreneurs Louis Jacquot and Sebastian Prunier..They tracked down trained chefs who were among the millions seeking asylum in France and employed them , hopefully changing the way the French look at them.Refugees are usually seen as a drain on society pulling it down. By allowing them to be chefs again they contribute not just to society but add some spice literally to the usually staid Gallic cuisine. Les Cuistots Migrateurs  cook at the restaurant, Le Petit Bain,  owned by Monsieurs Jacquot and Prunier. Diners are greeted by the  sounds of world music.It seemed appropriate to hire the Syrians chefs to add their dishes and flavors to the menu.The co-owners were well traveled business men who had a shared interest in bringing the food they had tasted on their travels.Mr. Jacquot lived on the street foods of Southern Asia , Brazil and Latin America. while Mr. Prunier lived abroad in Hong Kong , Singapore and Shanghai, eating in private homes, experiencing family dishes.

This culinary wanderlust paid off. It brought about a restaurant that was accepting of this latest addition to French dining. Another catalyst was an event that the  two men attended a party at a non profit organization last fall.Migrants also attended and brought foods from their counties. This sparked an idea. They could sift through the refugees for those who were trained chefs. Mssrs Jacquot and Prunier had three goals. One of the most important was exposing native French people to the cuisines and cultures of these immigrants.They wanted to create jobs for them and the last, they wanted to change the way these newcomers were being seen. The chefs would be on hand to explain the dishes to diners.The chefs are from all over. There are three from Syria, one from Chechnya along with chefs from India, Ethiopia and Sri Lanka, Two chefs from Afghanistan and Tibet are scheduled to join as well. Classics such as kebbe, a kind of meatball made from ground beef or lamb with bulger or cracked wheat.Samosas are also on the menu as is quail with freekah or green Durham wheat along with mackerel cooked with peppers and tahini.

Any immigrant groups adds to a  country, especially to its' cuisine. It is a stroke of genius to let them cook and integrate their flavors into an established cuisine. We need to do the same here in the States

Open To Sesame

\Mention sesame to most  Americans and they'll automatically think of a decorative topping for a hamburger bun. Mention the same seed to people from the Middle East, Turkey or Greece and they'll think tahini or halvah. Now it's becoming big stateside

Julia Moskin wrote about this extremely versatile seed in today's New York Times Food section.Sesame seeds can be turned into tahini if crushed or into the classic sweet halvah if mixed with sugar.It was long looked down upon as poor people's food, a treat for those who could not afford expensive pastries made with butter white flour and sugar. However Isreali, Turkish, and Greek chefs, long familiar with both are using both to create interesting main dishes and desserts. It is grown around the world and was one of the first plants cultivated for is' oil.It grows primarily in hot weather climates such as China, India, Myanmar and sub saharan Africa.Black sesame paste is used in East Asia, mostly for sweets.it creates a sugary inky black soup and is being used by trendy Japanese bakers to create elegant dove grey cheesecakes and chiffon cakes.Sesame is a part of the Chinese New Year treat jian due, fluffy rice balls coated in golden sesame seeds.Indians turn the seeds into brittle and candy balls for winter snacking. They're considered warming in the ayurvedic tradition Africans brought them to the american South where they're still known by the Bantu name benne, where they're made into melting savory crackers.

Home chefs too are fully embracing both  as they now crave Mediterannean and Middle Eastern foods.Hummus lovers already have been introduced to tahini. It's one of the ingredients in the chickpea dip.It gives foods a salty nutty under taste that actually works just as well with dessert recipes. In a way tahini is similar to peanut butter with grinding an oily seed or nut until the solids are minuscule enough to form a smooth, silky emulsion with the oil.Halvah also has the sesame seed paste  but it's blended with boiled and whipped sugar foam  to create a fluffy , feather light melt in your mouth treat/. Ms Moskin gives interesting recipes with the article. Home chefs can try it in salted chocolate chip cookies. It creates a different kind of cookie , one with savory notes that work well with the dark chocolate/ There is also a halvah semifreddo, a delicious mix of halvah, pistachios and whole cream frozen in a loaf pan.Another recipe is a fun candy like mix of Rice Chex or cornflakes, tahini and milk chocolate melted and mixed together to form crunchy  sweet rounds. These can be crumbled and sprinkled over ice cream too. For those who cannot get enough of halvah try the Greek pasteli, soft wedges of  sesame seeds, thyme honey and orange made for thousands of years on the island of Kea. Halvah can be bought on line and in different flavors such as chocolate and pistachio.

Sesame seeds are not just for decorating hamburger buns. They can be turned into a creamy sauce used for both savory and sweet dishes  as well as a feather light candy. Try tahini and halvah to experience a different side of the seed,

Discover Israeli Cooking

Many Americans have a narrow knowledge of Israeli cooking. They think it could be halvah and tabbouleh , possibly falafel If they're a bit more sophisticated , they may know of hand rolled bagels and za'atar the mixed bag of spices used in cooking.However it's a bit more than just those . It's one of the most flavorful and varied of Mediterranean cuisines. It has ancient grains and fresh herbs along with much loved meat dishes and cool salads.

Melissa Clark explored this in her Cookbooks column in Wednesday's New York Times Food section.She reviewed and tested some of the recipes in Zahav: A World Of Israeli Cooking (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt publishers),written by restaurant owner, Michael Solomonov and Stephen Cook. Both are co-owners in the wildly popular Philadelphia restaurant Zahav.It's much more than just a cookbook,veering into memoir territory. Not many cookbooks have an account of a brother's death by a Lebanese sniper or his feelings about being shipped off to a boarding school. The recipes are perfect for any novice home chef . They are direct, simple and immediate. There is a recipe on the gaining in popularity za'atar, a mix of common and exotic spices and harissa, the fiery red pepper paste from North Africa.Of course there are several recipes dedicated to tabbouleh along with hummus which figures huge in the Israeli diet as it does throughout the Middle Eastern world.The main star, though, is the sesame paste tahini. It's used in so many dishes, from savory to sweet being the backbone of both main courses , sides and desserts.There is a caveat to the book though, Ms. Clark warns, some of the ingredients may be hard to find in an American supermarket. A trip to Amazon.com can solve that.

Ms. Clark includes two recipes in her review. One is a pastel, an Israeli meat pie, similar to the Greek pastitsio.It has spiced ground beef along with carrots and onions along with parsley , dill and sesame seeds. However , instead of using pasta or lasagna as layers as the Italians and Greeks do, puff pastry is used, creating a take on a Cornish pasty,She also includes a simple recipe for halvah that requires - what else - tahini.It's as easy to make as simple fudge and a great end to any of the meals in the book. For those who love hummus , there is a snippet of advice as well. Chef Solomonov recommends using overcooked chickpeas for it. They create a dip with an almost buttercream consistency where it  silkily melts on the tongue. His hummus is the star of the restaurant, with all the flavors, including lemon and garlic  being equally balanced in a perfect blend.Any of these recipes could work well at a fall dinner party, especially the pastel served with a good red wine. The halvah would be nice to make as a dinner party or holiday gift.

Israeli cooking is so much more than just hummus and tabbouleh .It is a wide variety of meats and vegetables cooked fresh with exotic spices.Chef Solomonov knows this and displays it in both his restaurant and cookbook, Zahav,A World Of Israeli Cooking.

Spicing Up New York"s Palate

Middle Eastern cooking has the tantalizing blend of exotic and glam.The aromas and flavors are unique, giving ordinary ingredients such as lamb and eggplant zing and zest.The influence is now livening up dishes across Manhattan and can easily copied into a home chef's menu. New York Times Dining great, Julia Moskin wrote about this in today's food and wine issue.Many Manhattan chefs are adding exotic spices to both main meals and desserts.It's now not in usual to find coriander, pomengranate and saffron at hand in many kitchens.Chefs both with Arab and nonArab are using these to create new dishes as well as put a sophisticated spin on common Arab street foods.There's no room for the tried and true such as falafel and plain hummus.Fattoush ,a traditional salad of the region gets a new twist with avocado ,mint and lemon, thanks to Chef Einat Admony of the Manhattan restaurant Bar Bolonat.Usually made with tomatoes ,greens and shards of bread,it takes a more sensuous turn with the silkiness of the avocado and the sharp bite of lemon mixed with mustard.Manousheh, a domed Lebanese bread is creating fans throughout the city thanks to baker Ziad Hernez.This is a pita painted with zaatar and topped with tomatoes, cucumbers and jibneh, a crumbly feta like cheese with the mildness of mozzarella.Harissa, a popular North African sauce is also being used in more meat dishes.It's a simple easy to copy sauce made from hot peppers and paprika mixed with olive oil. Middle Eastern street fare is getting revamped as well.Kebabs are being made with tuna and halibut and wrapped around a cinnamon skewer.Stuffed vegetables are surrounded by fresh herbs,yogurt along with green and red chiles.Zaatar which is a home mix of the plant zaatar(a distant cousin of oregano) is mixed with ground sumac along with salt then doused with whole sesame seeds.It's also made into a wet form,using olive oil and is added to yogurt for flavor or spread over a pita bread. You could use it to spice up lamb chops or chicken too. Another spice is dukkah from Egypt .This is a fine mix of various spices and nuts now being used to zest up both meat and veggies.Pomengranate, a well used fruit of the area ,is being employed in all sorts of dishes, mostly in syrup form .It's mixed with tahini, a sesame sauce and poured over Brussels sprouts , a food not really used in Arab or Israeli cooking. Middle Eastern food is a delicious mix of the exotic and flavorful.Just making your own version of zaatar and adding to a meat dish is a step away from the ordinary.Add some of this flavor to your cooking for twist on Arabic cooking.

Open Sesame

Hard to believe one tiny little seed can be so versatile. That's the case with the same seed.It can be used as decoration or mashed in a dip.It 's an ingredient every home chef should have on the ready. Sesame seeds are a kitchen must have.

Sesame seeds come from the sesame plant  which has been cultivated for the last 5,000 years.Its' origins started in India however it was then replanted to Africa , primarily the North Saharan region. It has the highest oil content of any oil seed, You can store sesame seeds for a long time thanks to a sturdy and durable shelf life. It is also rich  in antioxidants and Omega 6 fatty acids.Sesame seeds are also abundant in carbs as well  as amino acids and essential fatty acids Unfortunately it could trigger bad allergic reactions  such as rashes and wheezing. Sesame seeds are about 2 to 3 millimeters in length and are always oval shaped. Their colorings vary from a creamy white , to sand to beige to a honeyed brownand black.

Sesame seeds are used the world over. Greeks Arabs and Turks use it to make the creamy dip tahini as well as oil.Ancient Greeks made a delicious candy called halvah  of it and the sweet  is still sold in stores today. They also make a crunchy and addictive bar with the seeds and honey. Italians use it to cat breads and breadsticks while.the Chinese like their sesame seeds in fried balls. Indian cuisine calls for black version in both sweet and savory balls. North Africans strictly use it with any kind of fish and lobster. What we Americans use it for is simply a topping mostly for hamburger buns  and benne ,a South Carolina crunchy cookie that had its' beginnings in West Africa, probably Benin.The Japanese like it to give sushi and salad flavor and crunch.

Sesame is a versatile seed that can be used in a variety of different ways. Try it in a salad the way the Japanese do or in a crunch cookie such as benne. It is a delicious way to experience this intriguing seed

Sesame is agreat