Egyptian Tahina

Before You Start

It seizes before it loosens. Keep adding water.

Thinner than a Levantine tahini — it should pour.

Vinegar as well as lemon. That is what makes it Egyptian.

Cooking Egyptian Tahina

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1. Whisk the tahini with the lemon juice and vinegar. It will seize into a thick paste — this always happens and is not a problem.

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2. Add the garlic, salt and cumin and whisk again.

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3. Add the cold water a tablespoon at a time, whisking after each addition, until the sauce loosens.

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4. Keep going past the point where it looks right. It should pour in a thin ribbon, not sit in a mound.

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5. Taste for salt and sharpness — it wants to be noticeably sour.

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6. Stir in most of the parsley.

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7. Pour into a shallow bowl and finish with the oil, chilli flakes and the last of the parsley.

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Storage and Reheating

Refrigerated for a week. It thickens in the fridge; whisk in cold water to bring it back.

Ingredient Swaps

• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.
• A dry vermouth keeps for longer than an open bottle of white wine and is the closer swap than a random white left in the fridge; for an alcohol-free version, use the same amount of stock with a squeeze of lemon.

Good With

• Ta'ameya
• Fried fish
• Aish baladi

The Numbers per Serving

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.