Q Have you ever had pasta with Greek tomato sauce? It sounds weird, but we swear we tasted cinnamon. Anyway, we had it in Greece and can't find a recipe for it.
A It's not so weird when you consider that cinnamon, allspice and even nutmeg are all fair game for tomatoes. This is one fruit that takes to warm spices. Think about old-time, all-American stewed tomatoes.
Here is one recipe we've been enjoying for a while. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it comes close to what you tasted.
Lots of possibilities in tahina Q I bought a large container of tahina to make some improvised shawarma sandwiches. Now I have all this tahina left. Do you have suggestions for other things one can do with tahina?
A Oh, you have a raft of possibilities in that container. Tahina, which is ground sesame seeds, will keep months in the refrigerator. You can tell if it is stale by a sniff or a small taste. Ideally, you'll taste nuts and a slight sweetness with a rich, creamy consistency. There should be no unappealing bitterness. Always stir the sesame oil that collects on top of the tahina into the ground seeds underneath.
For ideas, all you have to do is go to tahina's (also called tahini and tehina) home territory, which is the eastern Mediterranean. First, there is hummus dip or spread, which is chickpeas, lemon, garlic and tahina pureed together to taste. Baba ghanoush is an eggplant dip for vegetables and bread that you make by roasting whole eggplant until its flesh is as soft as cream. Purée the flesh with the same kind of seasonings as the hummus.
Tahina salad dressing is simply tahina with water to thin it, lemon juice, a little garlic or minced onion, and salt and pepper to taste. Spread that mixture on fish, lamb or chicken before grilling and you have a great marinade. Blend tahina with garlic and hot chile and season roasting ribs.
Take the tahina salad dressing and blend it into yogurt for a fresh sauce for vegetables (especially cucumbers, tomatoes, green beans, cooked dried beans or potatoes) or any cooked seafood. Slow-grilled eggplant makes a fine room-temperature meatless main dish when topped with tahina, lemon, red onion, fresh coriander, ground cumin and grape tomatoes. You get the idea.
