Make Your Own Tahini

I had some really good hummus at a high school open house last weekend, so I really wanted to make some of my own. Tahini (sesame seed paste used in any hummus recipe) is fairly expensive to buy, so I thought I'd make that from scratch too!

I bought about a pound of raw hulled sesame seeds from a local ethnic food store that sells things in bulk. Sesame seeds were only $2.50 per pound!

I sauteed 1 cup (which isn't even half of the bag I bought) in a dry skillet stirring often. The directions I found online said to roast them in the oven, but I didn't really want to heat up the whole house. The skillet method worked just fine.

I toasted the sesame seeds on medium heat for maybe 5 minutes until evenly golden brown.

Let the seeds cool slightly then whiz them up in a food processor with some oil (do not attempt this in a blender). For every 1 cup sesame seeds, add about 1/4 cup vegetable oil or a mix of vegetable oil and sesame oil (if you have it on hand). I had to add a little more than 1/4 cup before the mixture really came together.

The finished product is the color or peanut butter, but a little runnier. This tahini is probably a lot grainier than store bought, but it tastes really good and is super inexpensive.

*I should mention that this made about 1 cup of tahini, which is way more than you would use in a regular sized hummus recipe. The extra can be stored in the fridge for at least a couple weeks or longer.