Memories of red sour tomatoes and tahini sauce

As a child, I was known to be a picky eater. In this photo, my mother is feeding me while I'm distracted by a toy, with help from my brother and aunt. Although many children develop poor eating habits, my behavior in the 1970s was especially criticized because I refused to eat raw tomatoes, a staple in every Israeli meal.

When I was four years old at my daycare, we were served the same snack every day: a slice of crusty bread topped with Gvina Levana (an Israeli soft white cheese spread), and a freshly cut tomato on top. For the rest of my life, I would associate daycares with the aroma of that cheese and tomato combination, even though I never actually ate it. Instead, I was given a slice of bread spread with margarine and topped with fresh cucumbers. 

At home, my mom found an interesting way to encourage me to eat tomatoes. Knowing that I liked tahini, she served me a bowl of fresh tomato slices topped with a thin tahini sauce. She skillfully tricked me because the creamy tahini distracted me from the tomatoes, leading me to eat it all. Reflecting on it now, I believe the true reason it worked was that the bitter sweetness of the tahini contrasted with the tomatoes' strong acidity, creating a unique taste experience.

Today, it's recognized that people like me, who dislike raw tomatoes but appreciate them when they are well-cooked and seasoned, don't necessarily have a disorder. However, tahini still takes me back to my childhood, bringing back my earliest memories of the flavors my family enjoyed together at the table.

Now, let's head into the kitchen!

Eli's Tahini Sauce

Israeli children might first encounter raw tahini paste in their baby food, as pediatricians encourage adding it for its high content of iron. In today's daycares, they enjoy snacks like pita with hummus or a sweet spread made from tahini and date syrup. For those who grew up in the '70s and '80s, the ultimate birthday party treat was pita bread halves filled with hummus or tahini spread and a slice of pickled cucumber. This era marked the height of commercial tahini versions, a staple for any picnic and essential for cookouts. However, falafel stands offered a different tahini experience with a much runnier, liquid gold sauce to top the stuffed pita.

I fondly recall the long summer days my family spent at the beach with extended family and close friends. My father would bring along a small charcoal grill to serve shish kebabs to everyone. The wooden folding table was laden with an array of homemade salads, featuring Eli Pazi's (a close family friend) specialty - tahini sauce. It was thick and creamy, with extra garlic and lemon juice, plus one secret ingredient - a few seeds that accidentally fell into the sauce and stayed there. It was the queen of all Tahini Sauces.

A family photo featuring my siblings and me, and the Pazi children at Ashdod Beach, around 1985 (I'm wearing the black-and-white strapless swimsuit).

When purchasing tahini paste, I favor those made in Lebanon or Israel. Manufacturers in these regions utilize Humera seeds from Humera, Ethiopia, which are ideal for grinding and creating flavorful tahini. It's so delicious that you can drizzle it directly from the jar onto roasted vegetables, salads, meat, and fish. Store tahini paste in your pantry (refrigeration isn't necessary); it's versatile for various uses. For classic tahini sauce, all you need to add is salt, lemon, and garlic. With extra ingredients and steps, you can create green tahini, baba ghanoush dip, or a sweet tahini spread. The variations are limitless: incorporate chopped nuts for a textured tahini dip, combine it with plain yogurt, which has a naturally acidic taste (enhance it further with a squeeze of lemon juice), or mix with pureed beet for purple tahini. Serve any tahini sauce with pita bread, fresh-cut or roasted veggies alongside cooked lentils or chopped salad, or use it as a sandwich spread. Prepared tahini sauces can be refrigerated for up to 3 days, while sweet tahini spreads can be kept in the pantry for weeks.

Yields approximately 2 cups

Ingredients

• 1 cup (240 g) tahini

• ¾ cup cold water, plus more as needed for desired consistency

• 4–6 garlic cloves, minced (or more to taste)

• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 small lemons or 1 large), plus more to taste

• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, or more to taste

Preparation

1. Squeeze the lemon juice into a mixing bowl.

2. Add the tahini and minced garlic.

3. Slowly pour in the cold water while whisking with a fork (a blender isn't necessary) until the mixture reaches your desired consistency. Initially, the tahini might thicken and resemble dough, but keep whisking until it softens and turns smooth and creamy.

4. Add the salt and mix well. Taste and adjust as needed, adding more lemon juice, garlic, or salt to your preference.

5. Serve with chopped salad, roasted vegetables, or grilled meat.