Veganuary Day 29 - Tahini Pasta
A one-pot meal you'll love
Hi there! Happy Wednesday 🍋
I’m ready to celebrate the lemon season 😀 finally, it looks like we’re having a good year with our lemon trees, meaning we’re starting to get loads of juicy and lovely lemons. I refuse to buy lemons from the market, as we have two massive trees, so we’ve been adding preserved lemons that we made a few months ago to our recipes for that acidic touch.
I did miss my ginger and lemon teas, so I’m super happy we got a good season this year ☀️. Today, I want to share one of those recipes that call for fresh lemons: Tahini Pasta. I love adding a good amount of lemon juice to it and also serving it with some lemon slices to keep adding to it.
This Tahini pasta is one of the easiest recipes you will find on our blog. The tahini sauce comes together really quickly and uses just a handful of ingredients. If you have a tahini jar in the pantry but don’t know how else to use it, this is a great recipe to start!
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Ingredients
Tahini paste. This is, of course, the key ingredient for this recipe. When we buy Tahini Paste, we have our favorite brand that makes organic Tahini. You cannot compare this product to regular tahini paste that you can find in the supermarket. The taste is just much, much better. You can find tahini paste in most grocery stores or health food shops.
Pasta. For this creamy tahini pasta recipe, we use Fettuccine. We like this type of pasta for creamy sauces, but you can use another type of pasta shape. For healthier options, you can make this recipe using chickpea pasta, red lentil pasta, quinoa pasta, or whole wheat pasta.
Lemon Juice. When we add tahini to our dishes, we always add lemon juice. These two ingredients combine beautifull,y and this sesame paste shines when paired with fresh lemon juice.
Onion and garlic. We use sautée onion and garlic to add some more flavor to the dish, but you can leave these ingredients out or add raw garlic when making the sauce if you want to cook this pasta meal even faster.
Green olives. We cut pitted green olives into slices to add to this meal. They add a lovely touch. You can alternatively use black olives.
Yeast Flakes. To give our creamy tahini pasta sauce a light cheesy flavor, we use yeast flakes. We love adding yeast flakes when making pasta sauces as it is a good source of vitamin B12 and give your sauces a delicious cheesy flavor. If you need to substitute this ingredient, we have some vegan alternatives for nutritional yeast that can help you.
Fresh herbs. This dish pairs beautifully with different types of fresh herbs so use what's seasonal or available. We have sage growing in our garden all year round, so this is what we use. You can use fresh basil, thyme, parsley, or oregano.
Preserved lemons (optional). You can buy or make your own preserved lemons. We have a lemon tree at home, so every year, we make two big jars of preserved lemons that we use for making Tagine, salads, or pasta dishes such as this tahini pasta. If you want to make your own preserved lemons, we recommend checking Rainbow Plant Life's recipe. If you don't have preserved lemons, you can leave this ingredient out or add some lemon zest on top.
Black pepper and salt. We season the dish with black pepper and salt before serving. Optionally, you can add some garlic powder or soy sauce to add umami flavor.
Step-by-Step Method
Before making the creamy sauce, cook the pasta al dente following the package instructions and reserve some pasta water (around 1 cup) right before draining the pasta to make sure the water is starchy.
Heat some olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat and sautée finely chopped onion. Cook until it starts to soften and add finely chopped or pressed garlic and finely chopped fresh herbs. Cook until fragrant and set aside.
Add into a small blender jug the tahini paste, lemon juice, yeast flakes, and some of the reserved pasta water. Blend until well combined and adjust with more pasta water if needed. You want a smooth and creamy texture.
Pour the tahini sauce into the pan with the garlic, onion, and herbs. If you want to serve this dish warm, you can set the heat to low.
Add the cooked pasta, green olives, preserved lemons, salt, and pepper, and mix well. Adjust with salt and pepper to taste and serve.
FAQ
How can I add more protein to this meal?
If you want to add more protein to this plant-based meal (tahini paste is a high-protein ingredient), you can add some baked tofu or serve the meal with chickpea or lentil pasta instead of wheat pasta.
Is Tahini healthy?
Yes. Tahini is rich in protein, calcium, and healthy fats. If you are still not using tahini regularly, you should definitely start!
How can I make this creamy tahini pasta gluten-free?
Tahini is gluten-free so the only ingredient you need to change to make this meal gluten-free is the pasta. Use chickpea, red lentil, or gluten-free pasta instead.
What else can I cook with Tahini?
You can use Tahini to make Hummus, Baba Ganoush, salad dressings, and sauces to serve with grilled veggies or your favorite dishes. As well, we love the combination of avocado and tahini for our morning toast, you should give it a try too.
Download the whole recipe for quantities and instructions. Also, you can find more information about this recipe on the blog.
I really hope you enjoy this recipe 😊🍋
Talk soon,
Laura.