Homemade Tahini: Scratched it.

Hummus is a food group to me.  I eat it all of the time.  And I thought that making it myself meant that I was making it from scratch until I realized I was using tahini from a jar.  So I though, how hard can tahini be to make?  The answer, not hard at all. Plus, it's significantly cheaper.  Score.  

What's in tahini? This.  Sesame seeds and olive oil*, that's it.

I found sesame seeds in bulk at the New Seasons down the street from our house. While at the store I found out that there are two types of sesame seeds available in bulk.  Natural Raw and White Hulled.  I had no idea which would be better when I was at the store so I just bought the natural raw ones thinking that the less tampered / altered the better, right?  Google later told me that I was right.  The hulled seeds mean their outer shells are removed making them a lighter / white color (Duh).  The raw seeds still have their shells and in those shells lies a ton of calcium. Therefore the natural raw sesame seeds was a more nutritious choice, but the hulled ones can mean a creamier tahini.  I'll take the extra calcium over slightly creamer texture.

The first step of this super simple process, toast the seeds.

                                

Just a couple of tablespoons of olive oil to the pan at a low heat.  I am in love with our new stainless steel copper bottom cookware. I can't use my old pans for toasting fragile seed/nuts, the poor pans have been abused so much the heat doesn't distribute evenly, which is SO important with these seeds.  Just like nuts, they'll burn quickly.  

Stir often for about 10 minutes.  The color wont really change too much outside of what it'll pick up from the oil, you just want a nice light toast.  I did two cups of seeds, one cup at a time because of the size of my pan.  

Add your toasted seeds to the food processor.  

Then, add the oil.  1/2 cup for 2 cups of sesame seeds.  Or 1/4 cup for every cup.  I put in all but a few tablespoons of oil at first.  

Then blend.  

Then, for good measure and to feel fancy, I added the remaining tablespoons of oil while blending.   

Blend until it's a paste / smooth.  Don't forget before this point to scrape down the edges of your food processor. I always forget so I did it when it was already blended and gave it another few pulses. 

Voilà! (Or the Arabic equivalent)  Homemade Tahini.  

Sadly, I just bought this jar.  For $11.  The jar I just made cost me 2 cups of sesame seeds and 1/2 cup of olive oil, for way under $5.  

Anyone want this opened jar?  We wont be using it now that I have a jar of my own!  

Homemade Tahini 

2 cups of raw natural sesame seeds 

1/2 cup of olive oil 

Toast 1 cup of seeds at a time in pan on low heat with 2 tablespoons of oil.  Stir continuously for 10 min.  

Transfer seeds into food processor.  Add 1/2 cup, minus 2 tablespoons, of olive oil and blend.  While blending, add remaining two tablespoons.  Scrape down sides and continue blending until a smooth paste.  

Transfer to jar and store in fridge.  Will store for about a month.  

*Ok, disclaimer/obvious statement.  We're not making olive oil from scratch.  It will be one of the few things that we wont be trying because we just don't have the capability of making at home.  But, I did live at a Podere in Tuscany where I worked in their olive groves and I do have some oil (that I use for special dishes) from the same Podere so that's my closest connection to making it myself.