T ahini, or tahinia , is an intense, rich sauce made from pounded sesame seeds that features very prominently in my friend Fadi Kattan ’s new book, Bethlehem: A Celebration of Palestinian Food , in which there are recipes for, among others, tahinia shortbread and an aubergine and braised chard salad that inspired this week’s recipe. One of my favourite new kitchen tricks is to make sauces and dressings from the remnants of jars. Most things packed in a jar stick stubbornly to the sides and bottom, unwilling to be budged, but with a little ingenuity they can be turned into something new, valuable and delicious, and in the process leave the compost bin empty and/or the drain clear.
Tahini is particularly obstinate, and often sticks like concrete to the bottom of its jar or pot. Add a little lemon juice, however, and give it a shake to “wash” the insides, and you have the makings of an easy and tasty dressing for salad, or to serve with grilled vegetables or braised chard. Tahinia jar sauce (with optional braised chard, aubergine and chickpeas) Fadi is a dear friend and Franco-Palestinian chef who lives in Bethlehem; he also runs Akub , a restaurant in west London, where he and his team celebrate Palestinian culture and cuisine.
This recipe is inspired by one in his new book, called braised silek (AKA chard) with tahinia. I adapted it to make the most of what we had in the kitchen, and added aubergine and chickpeas to turn it into a filling meal. We didn’t have any lem.
