Basic Tahini Sauce

I would recommend following Michael Solomonov's original instruction to add the chopped garlic to the lemon juice and salt, whisking in a food processor, and letting those ingredients sit for ten minutes before combining with the other ingredients. I have been making tahini sauce for years and found this simple step to be revelatory; doing that preserves the garlic flavor but mellows the harshness and unpleasant aftertaste that sometimes is present.

yeah I know a lot of recipe writers omit the water in the ingredient list, but I really appreciate it being there--gets my brain mise-en-placed before I start :-)

Water has commonly been omitted from recipe ingredient lists because it's assumed the cook/reader has it on hand. The exception is if the water needs attention from the cook prior to its use in the recipe: for example, water brought to a boil.

This is a terrific sauce and I use it on everything -- toast, sandwiches, roasted veggies! But, the quality of the tahini really makes a difference. I didn't know that until I bought some tahini from Seed + Mill, a new place in Chelsea Market that only sells sesame products like tahini and halvah. They grind the tahini from fresh sesame seeds for you -- it's amazing! The only problem is you'll never want to go back to lower quality tahini again!

If you turn the tahini jar upside down for a day or so, it becomes easy to stir when you turn it rightside up again. The sauce also becomes really creamy if you pulse everything except the water in a food processor; then gradually add ice water until it becomes the consistency you like.

Using a Microplane to grate garlic into a tahini sauce as this recipe calls for makes all the difference to soften the edges of raw garlic flavor. No need to do anything more complicated in steps than just grate. Fan of proportion of lemon juice to tahini here. Have also omitted cumin at times and used ground Aleppo instead. We use this sauce in so many ways. Try it drizzled over oven roasted cauliflower "steaks" then sprinkle with sumac, sliced scallions and cilantro.

Water is not in 'ingredients' but ' instructiond step one ' calls for 6 Tbsp water

I would recommend following Michael Solomonov's original instruction to add the chopped garlic to the lemon juice and salt, whisking in a food processor, and letting those ingredients sit for ten minutes before combining with the other ingredients. I have been making tahini sauce for years and found this simple step to be revelatory; doing that preserves the garlic flavor but mellows the harshness and unpleasant aftertaste that sometimes is present.

I'm lazy - I don't like to make a mess that I have to clean up afterwards. The good news - no need to use a food processor. Mince garlic properly using the flat part of your knife and chunky salt. Let the lemon juice marinade the garlic as others have suggested. Wait 15 minutes and then whisk in the tahini. Absolutely perfect and one bowl to clean!

The Japanese dressing instructions mention reducing water to 1/4. The original recipe does not list water as an ingredient

Lightly toast ample amount of hulled sesame seeds. Cool. Grind in food processor until smooth. I add a pinch of salt and a small amount of neutral oil to help blend. It takes several minutes to process. Easy!

Sarah, My experience making tahini dressings and sauces over the years is they will always seize at first. Then as you stir / whisk in the water and continue to mix it will thin out to the consistency you want it to be. Just keep adding a little water at a time, you may need more than 6TBSP, then adjust the lemon juice and salt as needed.

Once again, how exactly is this an original recipe by Michael Solomonov? Every Arab cook has made tahini sauce this way, with the addition of water (to your desired consistency) since time immemorial. If your tahina is separating in the jar, it's not a good tahina. Invest in a high quality brand. Emulsify the ingredients with a whisk or put them in the food processor.

Not a useful answer where the first mention is "reduce water to X amount." Reduce from how much? Why not start with X?
Omitting water from the list when a specific amount is called for, not just water to boil something, is just dumb.

great recipe we leave the garlic out as it overpowers the subler flavors ,garlic while lovely is way overdone people use it like salt -which it doesnt hold candle to