There's a must-know secret to making great tahini sauce and the answer is at your fingertips: ice cold water, an important ingredient to smooth out the naturally occurring seizing (clumping) that tahini does when mixed with liquids.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup tahini

Juice of 1 lemon

1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic powder (fresh minced garlic can also be used; Sauce will not be perfectly smooth)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup ice cold water, and more as needed

INSTRUCTIONS

Whisk the tahini with the lemon juice, garlic powder, and salt. The mixture will seize and become clumpy.

Add the ice cold water a tablespoon at a time, whisking with each addition, until the mixture is smooth. The finished sauce should be thin enough to pour but thick enough to dip, comparable to the thickness of stirred sour cream or labneh.

AUTHOR: MAUREEN ABOOD