Beetroot Tahini

This Beetroot Tahini is a striking and hearty salad dressing. Perfect if you want to add some colour to your salad recipe!

I adore tahini. How would we be able to love without this sesame paste so prevalent in Mediterranean,  Middle Eastern and North African cuisine? Without this condiment, we wouldn’t have hummus, halva or baba ghanoush!

If you’ve never tried tahini as an ingredient on its own, there are essentially 2 types of tahini you can buy. Hulled or unhulled.

Hulled tahini means that the skin of the sesame seeds have been removed while the latter has not. Hulled sesame seeds are a lot less bitter and smoother so this would be the way to go for a gentler entry into the world of tahini.

For those who love their tahini, have you ever tried making your own? It’s actually quite simple.

In a large saucepan or wide skillet, dry toast your hulled sesame seeds until they are golden brown. Add it into your food processor and give it a good whiz.

Then add some oil, preferably one that is flavourless as you don’t want to take away the flavours of the main ingredient. How much oil you add will determine its viscosity. Add a little salt to enhance the taste. Voila! 

No doubt you would have had many different versions of tahini based salad dressings including our Tahini Maple Syrup Dressing.

But I wanted to create an additional flavour that would add to the earthiness of the dressing. I have to admit I was also after some colour and no better companion to tahini than the good ‘ol beetroot.

Beetroot Tahini Ingredients

Beetroot: Earthy and sweet root vegetable that is the basis of this dressing. Give it a good blitz to really give you a nice and pureed texture that will allow for spread and dipping.

Tahini: Beautiful addition of this sesame based paste makes it a truly diverse dressing. The beetroot gives this tahini a different flavour and something different from the regular tahini based dressings you may be used to.

Some of the good brands out there include Baron’s, Soom Foods and Okka.

Garlic: This dressing can’t live without some garlic and really adds to the overall flavours.

Lemon: Juice the lemon to yield 3 tbsp. This will help to balance out the strong flavours of the beetroot and tahini.

Salt and pepper: Just a pinch to season the dressing.

Beetroot Tahini Method

Bring a small saucepan of water to boil.

Remove the leaves and stem from the beetroot and place into the saucepan. Reduce to a simmer and place the lid on. Simmer for at least 30 minutes until they are tender.

Remove beetroot from the saucepan. Let it cool down a little and then with your fingers, remove the skin, which should slide off easily. If it’s being stubborn, just use a peeler.

Add the beetroot, tahini, garlic cloves, a pinch of salt and pepper into a food processor. Blend until pureed. You should get a bright purple tahini dip with a really creamy texture.

Best Salad for This Dressing

Baby Cauliflower and Spiced Chickpeas with Beetroot Tahini

What could be more scrumptious than whole roasted baby cauliflower? Combine them with spiced chickpeas and beetroot tahini, and you’ll have a middle eastern inspired salad that won’t disappoint.

More Salad Dressing Recipes

Recipe

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