Tomato Salad With Turkish Tahini Dressing

Name: Tomato Salad With Turkish Tahini Dressing
Total time: 10 min
Yield: Serves four to six (the recipe makes about 2/3 cup dressing)
Cuisine: middle eastern, turkish
Ingredients: 1 1/2 pounds tomatoes, or a mixture of red and green tomatoes, cored and sliced; 4 tablespoons sesame tahini; 1/3 cup water; 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice; 1 to 2 garlic cloves; Salt to taste; 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds, lightly toasted and ground; Freshly ground pepper or Aleppo pepper to taste; 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

By Martha Rose Shulman

Total Time: About 10 minutes
Rating: 4(91)
Notes: Read community notes

If tomatoes are unavailable, use this popular Turkish dressing with steamed vegetables or a green salad.

Featured in: Tahini: The Taste of Healthy Middle Eastern Cuisine

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Ingredients

Yield:Serves four to six (the recipe makes about ⅔ cup dressing)

1½pounds tomatoes, or a mixture of red and green tomatoes, cored and sliced
4tablespoons sesame tahini
⅓cup water
2tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 to 2garlic cloves
Salt to taste
½teaspoon cumin seeds, lightly toasted and ground
Freshly ground pepper or Aleppo pepper to taste
1 to 2tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Arrange the sliced tomatoes on a platter.
Step 2
Mix together the tahini, water and lemon juice. Combine the garlic with ¼ teaspoon salt in a mortar and pestle, and mash to a paste. Stir into the tahini mixture. Add the cumin, then salt and pepper (or Aleppo pepper) to taste. Thin out with water if the dressing is too thick to pour. Drizzle over the sliced tomatoes, sprinkle on the parsley and serve.

Tip

Advance preparation: The dressing will be good for a couple of days in the refrigerator, but it will thicken and become more pungent. Thin out with water as desired. Martha Rose Shulman can be reached at martha-rose-shulman.com.

Ratings

4 out of 5

91 user ratings

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Cooking Notes

Ellen6 years ago

Terrific sauce for a raw vegetable salad -- tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes and onion, for instance. Or add to a sandwich in a pita.

Yvette6 years ago

Tasty. Made with new squeeze bottle tahini. Made it easier but it was thinner than regular tahini so should start with less water.

Chantel2 years ago

I agree with the others, the tahini needs way less water and more lemon or garlic. I did use some crusty bread to sop up the wet dressing and it was really good!

Kathryn3 years ago

Not strong enough, instead of water, use lemon juice to thin it? More Garlic?

Mary Richter4 years ago

It was too watered down because I used Trader Joe's tahini which is very creamy. Next time I'll use more tahini and less water or another more concentrated brand of tahini. I liked the taste.

jorebe5 years ago

This was just delicious. Simple and easy! I have made this a number of times, as written and adjusting the amount of parsley, adding basil and mint, whatever fresh herbs are in my garden. Adding a little red onion, or not, gives it some more zip. Good tomatoes are a must!

Yvette6 years ago

Tasty. Made with new squeeze bottle tahini. Made it easier but it was thinner than regular tahini so should start with less water.

Ellen6 years ago

Terrific sauce for a raw vegetable salad -- tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes and onion, for instance. Or add to a sandwich in a pita.

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