Black sesame tahini is a thing and you are going to love it.

 

This is something I accidentally discovered, thanks to a wrong google search. I saw a photo of one jar of black sesame tahini and at that moment I knew that I had to try it. I was also surprised why I didn’t think about it before myself. I mean, I use black sesame seeds often and I should have guessed that there is tahini with those seeds.

 

 

Black sesame tahini is not as commonly used as regular tahini. It is really black, I mean pitchblack. It’s a bit weird thing to see as a food. It also tastes slightly more bitter than regular tahini. This is why especially if you plan to use it as a substitute for regular tahini in sweet recipes, you will need to use a little more sugar.

 

 

 

Black sesame tahini is also much more expensive than regular tahini. In Helsinki, you can find it in Ruohonjuuri and like everything in that shop, it is a bit expensive. (There may be other shops selling it too, but I haven’t seen yet.)

 

 

I decided to add a bit of colour into this pitchblack hummus and enrich its taste. So I made a small batch of dukkah and mixed some of it with hummus. Dukkah is an Egyptian condiment made with mixed herbs, seeds and nuts. It is not powdered and it is not like a paste, it has a coarse texture.

 

 

Dukkah is traditionally made with a pestle and mortar. However, because I am extremely lazy when it comes to using that, I made my dukkah with a food processor, which, really, worked just well. So if you have very delicate arms like mine, you can use food processor as well. Typically the “nut” used in dukkah is hazelnut, however, I used roasted pistachios because they gave more beautiful colour and also, I just happened to have some pistachios at hand. The recipe for dukkah here makes more than enough to use in this hummus. You can store the remaining dukkah in an airtight container / jar, away from direct sunlight for about a month. Enjoy!
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Ingredients:

 

Difficulty:  ★☆☆ (Easy)
(serves 4-6)

 

Printable PDF-recipe (no photos)

 

For dukkah:
2 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp fennel seeds
2 tsp red pepper flakes
4 tbsp roasted pistachios (I heated my oven to 200C, put pistachios on a baking paper and roasted them for about 4-5 minutes, until they just started to get brown and released their smell)
2 tsp dried mint
1 tsp salt

 

For hummus:
400 gr. cooked chickpeas, drained
5 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp lemon juice
4 tbsp black sesame tahini
3 tbsp dukkah (some of this is for service)
about 1 cup ice cold water (or less, depending on how creamy you want your hummus)
about 1 tsp salt (more, to taste, if you want)

 

 

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1. Put sesame seeds, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds and red pepper flakes in a pan. Dry roast them on medium high heat for 3-4 minutes, frequently stirring, until they release their aroma (don’t burn!). Take away from heat and let them cool for 5 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. In a food processor, put cooled seed mixture and roasted pistachios and process until you get a coarse mixture with seeds broken and pistachios coarsely sliced. Some of it can get powdered as well, just make sure that some of it stays coarse so that you have a mixture with a texture.

 

 

 

 

 

3. Transfer the mixture in a bowl. Add dried mint and salt and mix.

 

 

 

 

 

4. Put it in a jar and cover with a lid. Put aside.

 

 

5. Wash your food processor and put cooked chickpeas in it. Briefly process them until they are quite small pieces.

 

 

 

6. Add crushed garlic and lemon juice and process a bit more. Scrape sides if needed.

 

 

 

 

7. Add tahini and dukkah (leave some of dukkah aside for serving). Close the lid of food processor. While it is processing, gradually add cold water. Do not add too much at a time. Check the creaminess of the hummus and add just enough water to keep it as creamy as you like.

 

 

 

 

8. Again, scrape sides if needed. Finally add salt and process just a bit more. Transfer the hummus to serving bowl / plate, spread the remaining dukkah on top. You can also drizzle a little olive oil if you like. Serve with fresh, crusty baguette / bread slices. Enjoy!