Balsamic tahini dressing

Five minutes, one jar, and salad stops being the thing you eat because you should.

The BetterDay Kitchen2 min read

Most salads are not boring. Most salad dressings are. This one is nutty from the tahini, sharp from the balsamic, and just sweet enough from a spoon of maple to hold the whole thing together.

It takes about five minutes and one bowl, and it keeps in the fridge for a week. Make it on Sunday and you have already solved lunch four times.

Tahini is the part doing the heavy lifting. It is ground sesame seeds, nothing else, and it brings protein, fat and fibre along with calcium, magnesium and iron. It also gives the dressing body without any dairy, which is why this works as a dip as easily as it works on greens.

A note on the shallot

A minced shallot is softer and sweeter than raw garlic and it melts into the dressing instead of shouting over it. If you only have garlic, use one small clove and expect a sharper, punchier result. Both are good. They are just different dressings.

What to put it on

  • Any green salad, obviously, but especially bitter leaves like radicchio or arugula
  • Roasted broccoli or cauliflower, while still warm, so it soaks in
  • A grain bowl with chickpeas and whatever is left in the crisper
  • Straight off a carrot stick, standing at the fridge, which is how most of ours gets eaten

The recipe

Balsamic Tahini Dressing

A creamy, nutty, tangy dressing made with tahini, balsamic and a spoonful of maple. Keeps one week in the fridge.

Prep

5 min

Cook

None

Total

5 min

Makes

About 1 cup, enough for 6 to 8 salads

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup tahini
  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 small shallot, minced (or 1 small clove garlic, minced)
  • 1 teaspoon maple syrup
  • 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons water, to thin

Method

  1. 1In a small bowl, whisk together the tahini, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, minced shallot, maple syrup, Dijon, sea salt and black pepper until smooth.
  2. 2Add water one tablespoon at a time, whisking, until the dressing pours the way you want it to.
  3. 3Taste. Add salt if it is flat, another splash of balsamic if it is too rich, a little more maple if the vinegar is winning.
  4. 4Pour into a jar with a tight lid and refrigerate.
  5. 5Shake well before each use. A pinch of chili flakes on the way out of the jar is a very good idea.

Keeps

Up to one week in a sealed jar in the fridge. It thickens when cold, so shake it well and let it sit out for a minute before using.

Chef’s note

Runny tahini and stiff tahini behave completely differently. If yours has been sitting in the cupboard, stir the jar properly before you measure, or you will scoop pure oil off the top and wonder why nothing thickens.

Rather not cook tonight

We make this kind of food every week.

See this week’s menu

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