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Make your own raw tahini and cheesy tahini broccoli recipe

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Broccoli smothered in cheesy tahini sauce

I already toted the many amazing benefits of sesame seeds here so we'll skip that part in this post and go straight to the awesomeness that is tahini.

Raw tahini is delightfully easy, and inexpensive, to make. And you can do such awesome things with it! I personally love using tahini as salad dressing. And when I discovered you could make a delicious cheese sauce with it...!! You can't really tell from the photo, but this makes a deliciously creamy and cheesy sauce that you can use on zucchini linguine, or for kale chips, or really just about anywhere that cheesy goodness could go (which is pretty much anywhere). The cheesy tahini broccoli is my version of Julie Morris's awesome recipe. While you're there check out her other recipes, yum they sure do look good!

How to make raw tahini
You will need just two ingredients:
sesame seeds
raw sesame oil

Put the seeds in a food processor or blender and begin grinding, slowly adding oil until it reaches the desired consistency. I used a magic bullet, so there was a lot of shaking going on to mix it up. If you're using a food processor or blender, you may need to occasionally pause and scrape down the sides and let it cool down a bit to keep it from overheating.

It's important that the sesame oil is raw as toasted sesame oil has a very strong taste. If you can't find raw, then either go for raw olive oil or cold-pressed sesame or olive oil. If you live in toronto, Essence of Life on Kensington Avenue has reasonably priced cold-pressed oils - you'll have to contact the companies to find out if they're raw.

I used hulled sesame seeds, which the person at the store said was raw. But I am learning that when most people say something is "raw" what they really mean is "unroasted". Try this recipe with black sesame seeds and unhulled seeds for some variety. The unhulled version will likely be more sesame-y, but it will also have considerably more calcium! According to World's Healthiest Foods, one tablespoon of hulled seeds contain 37mg of calcium, compared to 88mg in the same quantity of unhulled seeds. Though, the type of calcium in the husk is of a less absorbable kind.


Broccoli with cheesy tahini sauce

The broccoli
1 head of broccoli, washed and chopped
olive oil
lemon juice
salt

Rub the broccoli florets with a bit of olive oil, lemon juice and salt like marinade. This will help to soften the broccoli a bit, making the eating and digesting of it that much more pleasant. Put the broccoli aside to sit in the marinade for at least 1 hour. I often wait till I'm hungry to make food, so the last time I made this it sat for only 45 min, and was quite perfect. It was the first time I had eaten raw broccoli in such a large quantity so I was a bit nervous as to how it would go. Had no problems (luckily as I went out afterward). If, however, you're not used to eating raw I would start with this as a side dish.

the cheesy tahini sauce
1/3c tahini
1 tsp soya/tamari sauce
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp paprika (I used a sweet paprika that my sister-in-law brought us from hungary)
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp water

Blend everything together or whisk it together in a bowl. Pour over your marinated broccoli, mix well and enjoy!

xo
Selene

Comments

vegan said…
Sounds easy and looks good. You might like this Indian gravy curry with broccoli.

http://www.vegrecipes4u.com/broccoli-cauliflower-gravy.html
Yummy. Just made something like this for my kale chips, but I like the idea of coating broccoli with it. I just did a whole blog post on sesame seeds, with an awesome grawnola recipe. I bought a 5lb bulk bag, so I have to use them up ya know?
xoxo
Sarah said…
Nice one! This sounds very tasty. I came here from This is Why You're Thin. I am a veggie lover, but not a vegetarian or vegan, so my question is about nutritional yeast. What does it add to the recipe, both in terms of taste and health benefit? Thanks, perhaps these things are obvious to those who know! :)
thanks for the comments!

sarah - nutritional yeast adds awesomeness. Specifically a delightfully cheesy flavour. And lots of B vitamins, including B12.
jenna said…
ooh that looks good!
Jenny said…
This would be a really great dish for my kids. They like broccoli, but I think they would like this even better.
christina said…
oh, this looks heavenly...
Unknown said…
This looks wonderful! Yummy!
amy said…
THIS. LOOKS. MAGNIFICENT.

I haven't eaten brocolli raw since the last recipe disaster, it put me off it for a while. I scrolled down to your other post about curried lentil salad which looked amazing. All these things I will make once school starts (i'm living at Carleton University now, food is limited). BUT YAH also about sprouting I want to start! Can I ask where you bought the mesh? I have to re read your method for sprouting. It's also something that looks daunting but really probably isn't..

Have a good weekend :)
-Amy
Tough Cookie said…
My name is Maria, and I am with the crazysexylife.com team. Can we have your permission to use your portabello steak recipe on our website? We'll link back to your blog. You can e-mail me at maria@crazysexylife.com and let me know. Thanks!
Anonymous said…
wow great dish ... sounds easy...

pls visit my blog...

http://bannedarea.blogspot.com/
wyllow said…
where did you go lady? :) I'm so uninspired foodwise right now... sigh.
Gio Drakes said…
Nice! I love tahini, never made it before, but now I am definitely going to try it! I have a food processor in the shopping list. I'm sick of shaking the bullet lol
i know i know! i haven't blogged in so so long! I have lots to tell you guys though, so i'll be posting a megapost soon!!!
always a fan of broccoli, would love to try this out, can't wait :-)
Raederle said…
Oh! Excellent recipe/article. I like, I like, I like! I've added you to the blogs I follow, and (hope you don't mind) stuck you on my affiliates page. Link back if you like my raw food & fitness blog. :) I'll be back to check out more of your stuff later - after I go grab my banana seed/nut smoothie out of the freezer, lol. ~Raederle Phoenix
Erin said…
Yummy, sounds awesome. Can't wait to try this recipe. I love anything with raw broccoli and anything that remotely tastes like cheese (raw of course!) Thanks for the great recipe.

I just made raw broccoli with sprouted chickpeas (blended out) and a red hot pepper.
Check it out.
http://rawtherapy.blogspot.com/2011/03/broccoli-sprouted-chickpeas-dish-expand.html
Manuel Mendoza said…
Can I get that cheese flavor with ground mustard or lemon instead of nutritional yeast? Thanks :D
Manuel Mendoza said…
Can I use ground mustard or lemon or both instead of nutritional yeast to get that cheese flavor? Thanks :D
Hi Manuel, the flavour will still be delicious with those alternatives, but nowhere near as "cheesy" :)

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