Yogurt tahini sauce with roasted eggplants and bell peppers

Tahini is a pantry staple in every Israeli kitchen, prized not only for that delicately roasted sesame flavor, but also for its versatility. Tahini is most often served savory, as part of a hummus plate, for example, or squeezed over hot falafel in a pita. But it’s also the base for the most typical of Israeli sweets, halvah – and tahini cookies. And Israeli cooks are always dreaming up delicious ways to combine tahini with other ingredients. This recipe features tahini blended with yogurt to make a light sauce.

What foods can you dress up with this sauce? Start with vegetables. Drop spoonfuls of it over roasted eggplant and bell peppers, as shown above (I’ll explain how to make that a little further on); or over glazed carrots. Go on to fish: the sauce is excellent with baked or grilled fish. Or increase the tahini in the recipe to 3 tablespoons to obtain a dip for raw cucumbers and carrots. If you want to go sweet, omit the garlic and salt, beat in one tablespoon honey, and spoon the sauce over sliced fresh fruit – or baked bananas.