Recipes with sesame
Sesame is one of the oldest seeds grown for oil, and that is precisely what makes it useful in the kitchen: more than half its weight is fat. It is not a decoration scattered on bread — it is an ingredient that feeds, binds and thickens.
The Levant grinds it into a paste, tahini, and uses it as a dairy-free cream: it is what gives hummus, beetroot hummus and baba ganoush their texture, and what holds the sauce of Egyptian taameya together. Japan toasts it and barely crushes it, so it stays grainy: spinach goma-ae is almost nothing else, and onigiri and sekihan take it on the surface. Egypt blends it with hazelnuts and spices for dukkah.
One move changes everything: toast it dry, in a pan with no fat, stirring, until it colours and starts to jump. Raw, it has almost no flavour. And tahini separates in the jar like peanut butter — stir it right down to the bottom before you spoon any out, or you pour the oil and leave the paste behind.
- Recipes on the site
- 15
- Countries represented
- 8
- Ready in 30 minutes or less
- 4
- Vegan
- 13
- Gluten-free
- 7
The best represented countries: Japan (3) · Lebanon (3) · Egypt (2) · Israel (2) · South Korea (2) · Australia (1)
These recipes also use: rice (3) · aubergine (2) · lemon (2) · chickpeas (2) · tofu (2)
The recipes
Australia⏱ 15 minAvocado toast
Two rounds of toasted sourdough under smashed avocado sharpened with lemon, scattered with chilli and sesame.
China⏱ 35 minVegetable noodles with coconut soy sauce
Chow mein with crunchy vegetables, tofu or plant-based strips, coated in a soy and coconut sauce and topped with sesame and coriander.
Egypt⏱ 25 minDukkah
An Egyptian blend of toasted hazelnuts, sesame and spices, coarsely crushed for dipping bread dunked in olive oil.
Egypt⏱ 50 minTaameya
Egyptian falafel made with split fava beans, vivid green with herbs, crusted in sesame and soft at the centre.
Israel⏱ 55 minPotato Bourekas
Israeli puff pastries filled with cumin-scented mashed potato, glazed and seeded, sold in every bakery in the country.
Israel⏱ 40 minSabich
A generous pita of fried aubergine, hard-boiled egg, hummus and tahini, with a bright streak of mango amba.
Japan⏱ 80 minSekihan
Glutinous rice stained pink by the cooking liquid of azuki beans, steamed and served with toasted sesame salt.
Japan⏱ 15 minSpinach goma-ae
Blanched, well-squeezed spinach dressed in a toasted sesame paste, lightly sweetened and salted with soy sauce.
Japan⏱ 45 minVegetable onigiri
Warm triangles of Japanese rice filled with pickled vegetables and umeboshi, wrapped in a crisp strip of nori seaweed.
Lebanon⏱ 45 minBaba ganoush
Flame-charred aubergine flesh beaten with tahini, garlic and lemon into a silky, smoky dip finished with parsley and olive oil.
Lebanon⏱ 10 minBeetroot hummus
Lebanese hummus in bright pink, chickpeas and cooked beetroot blended with tahini, lemon and cumin.
Lebanon⏱ 75 minClassic hummus
Ultra-smooth chickpea purée whipped with tahini, lemon and garlic, lightened with iced water and pooled with olive oil. The foundation of every mezze.
Nepal⏱ 40 minMula ko Achar
A Nepali relish of white radish simmered in a sesame tomato sauce, set beside rice at every meal.
South Korea⏱ 45 minJapchae
This japchae recipe tosses translucent sweet potato noodles with spinach, carrot and mushrooms, glossy with sesame oil and soy.
South Korea⏱ 50 minVegan bibimbap
The Korean mix-it-yourself bowl, hot rice, sautéed vegetables fanned on top, golden tofu and a sesame gochujang sauce.