Orange Thyme Tahini Dressing

This Orange Thyme Tahini Dressing is a creamy, nutty, and oil-free dressing with a delicious fruity flavour. Healthy, lower calorie than oil-based dressings and more nutritious. Its sesame flavour makes my Sweet Potato Grape Salad even more exciting to eat, but it’ll happily grace any salad that would go with these flavours and is the perfect finish for Falafel wraps.

 

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• Why You Will Love This
• The Ingredients
• The Process
• Meal Prep

Why You Will Love This 

Refined Oil Free

During my weight loss journey, I read many books about nutrition, different approaches to weight loss. Two of the best ones in my opinion were “Fibre Fuelled”* and “Eat To Live”*.

While I’m not vegan (yet love vegan food. I’m a walking contradiction!) and don’t subscribe to the restrictions of the Nutritarian way, I do enjoy the nut and seed-based dressings it offers, as they are often lower calorie than oil-based dressings, while offering more nutrition and fibre to the body. However, I do add salt, contrary to the Nutritarian approach, since I love how it enhances flavor.

Plus our body actually needs salt to function. Though certainly not in the amounts you find in processed foods. But then…I usually don’t consume many of those, finding whole foods decidedly more satisfying.

Takes 5 Minutes To Make

This Tahini dressing takes 5 minutes to whip up and needs no special equipment. The only “effort” is zesting the orange and mincing the garlic. From there you just whisk everything together until smooth and have an incredibly flavourful dressing for all kinds of delicious dishes.

Versatile

You can vary Tahini dressings endlessly, so you don’t get bored with your salads. For this Orange Thyme Tahini Dressing, you could add some herbs for a slightly more savoury approach, a little more honey for sweetness, mustard or chili for spice. Replace the orange with all lemon or lime, for a more acidic version.

You can of course use this on all sorts of salads, from some quick rocket on the side, elevated to deliciousness by the nutty sesame flavour and gentle sweetness to rather elaborate creations like the Sweet Potato Grape Salad I used this for in a previous post, all the way to Vegan Falafel Wraps.

The Ingredients

A Word on Tahini

Whatever you do, please don’t use the classic supermarket version of Tahini here, which you will recognise by the firm and hard to scoop paste in a jar topped with a thick layer of oil. I found they are at best just hard to work with, worst case add a horrible, bitter note to your recipes.

What we are after is creamy, easy to pour, and lovely sesame flavoured Tahini.
Israeli, Lebanese and Palestinian versions offer it, like “Al Nakhil”, which is the one I’m using.

Admittedly I have to order it online and it is often sold out in Ireland. So when I spot it, I tend to order several containers, for fear of running out. I get it at the Asia Market or Fallon & Byrne in Ireland. But if you live elsewhere in the world, check for the above countries of origin and you should be fine.

• Tahini – See above. Gives this dressing its creamy texture, replaces oil and will have you addicted to the sesame flavor with the first taste. Just don’t try it on its own. I did and regretted it immediately.
• Orange Juice and zest – Since I’m going for s slightly sweeter flavor here, to work with the sweet potato and grapes from my salad, my main acid component is orange juice and the aromatic zest.
• Balsamic vinegar – To layer different types of acidity and sweetness
• Lemon  – With its more pronounced sour, yet slightly floral aroma, lemon juice perfectly rounds the acid components.
• Honey – Goes just too well with sesame to skip it. Try Honey-Sesame Cookies and you know what I mean.
• Flavorings – I used garlic and thyme, but you could use all kinds of herbs here. Get creative!
• Salt and Pepper to taste

The Process

Add all of your ingredients to a lidded jar and shake vigorously until well combined and creamy.
If, despite your best efforts, you could only get one of the rock hard supermarket Tahini versions, you might have to resort to using a whisk. Or, worst case, a blender.

Meal Prep

This makes about 6 portions, though I often make double, to have dressing in the fridge for the week. It keeps for at least a week in a lidded jar in the fridge, probably longer.

Here Are Some Other Nut Based Dressings You Might Enjoy:

Almond Strawberry Vinaigrette

Black Garlic Cashew Ranch Dressing

Orange Maple Vinaigrette with Hazelnuts and Lime

Now I’d love to hear from you in the comments!

Have you tried this? Did you enjoy it?
What other recipes would you like to see?

If you enjoyed this recipe, please share. It helps me a lot.