Brown rice, sweet potato, kale and baked chickpeas topped with Tahini Sauce.
I first created this sauce to use with the kale chips I made in my new dehydrator (still learning and experimenting, but that thing is FUN!). They turned out great, btw, but I didn’t end up using all the sauce and shortly realized how delicious it was on steamed greens, and as a salad dressing. It packs a lot of flavor so a little really does go a long way.
It’s been a long time since I posted a recipe! Not that I haven’t been creating in the kitchen – I’m always doing that. Just life. You know how it is. Anyway, I love tahini dressings but they are usually so high in fat. Tahini, or sesame seed paste, is high in fat of course because seeds are high in fat. Tahini, and other seeds and seed pates are very healthy but can easily be overeaten. However, there is a way to use tahini in dressing, still get that flavor, and cut the fat. The secret is in the BEANS. Yes, beans. They not only help cut the fat, they add creaminess, body, nutrients, fiber and protein.
I made this dressing with a salad in mind, but I ended up pouring some over my steamed kale and sweet potato, and it was tasty! You can use any kind of soft, white bean. I had made my own flageolet beans the day before because I like to have a batch on hand, but you can use cannellini, great northern, etc. If you use canned be sure to rinse and drain them. NOTE: I get a lot of my dried beans from Rancho Gordo. They sell the BEST heirloom beans! You can purchase from their website at ranchogordo.com.
If any of you are familiar with the restaurant True Food Kitchen, you may know they make a sauce for their Brussels sprouts called umami sauce. Umami is one of the 5 flavors identified by our tastebuds; salty, bitter, sweet, sour, and savory or umami. Their sauce is AMAZING! Unfortunately, as is the case with most restaurant food, it’s loaded with fattening oil. I found the recipe online but tweaked it to significantly reduce the fat and cut the oil. If you can find oil-free hummus, this would be considered an oil-free dish. The hummus I had on hand did contain a small amount of oil.
I roasted a mixture of Brussels sprouts, butternut squash, onions and white beans (pictured) to serve with the sauce, but you could use this sauce with any vegetable, bean, grain or even as a salad dressing. Enjoy!
This peanut sauce is delicious over steamed veggies, rice noodles, tofu, or even potatoes. Many possibilities!!
This sauce is delicious with steamed veggies, on noodles or tofu scramble.