Middle Eastern tahini dip with crudites

This is based on a Sophie Grigson recipe I loved, but lost.  My husband says this version is the best of my attempts to recreate it.  It’s dead simple.  Enjoy with strips of red pepper, carrot, cucumber or celery and maybe a few olives.  Dips with veg sticks before a main course are a great way of encouraging your kids to eat veggies too – take advantage of them being hungry!!

For a smoother dip use normal tahini made from roasted sesame seeds.  For a coarser (and even more vitality boosting) dip use raw tahini (e.g. Carly’s) from health shops.  Raw seeds retain their beneficial oils to do your body even more good.  If you’re not going to use this dip within half an hour or so, store in a small screwtop glass jar or else a small glass/ceramic container with clingfilm over the top (but not in contact with the dip itself) to stop it drying out.

To make this dip into a sauce add a little more water to thin and drizzle over cooked white fish or felafels.

To serve 3-4 as a starter

2 cloves garlic
2 level tbs dark tahini
1 1/2 tbs lemon juice
1 dsp extra virgin olive oil
1 level tsp cumin
Pinch Himalayan or Atlantic sea salt
Pinch cayenne pepper
4 tbs water

Mini food processor method:
1. Crush the garlic and throw it and the rest of the ingredients into a mini food processor.
2. Blend for a couple of minutes, scraping down the sides of the processor a few times to get everything well mixed.
3. If you have time, allow to sit for half an hour for the flavours to amalgamate.

Traditional method:
1. Crush the garlic and place in a mixing bowl with everything except the water.
2. Mix well with a wooden spoon, then add half the water.  The tahini will become quite stiff at this point, just keep mixing and it will start to relax and absorb the water.
3.  Mix well, then add the rest of the water and work till smooth.  This will be a more rustic mix than using the food processor.  If you have time, allow to sit for half an hour for the flavours to amalgamate.

NB. If you are on a ketogenic eating plan, avoid eating more than 1/2 cup raw carrots in the day.  Like all root veg, they are rich in sugar and too many will derail your programme.

Why this is good for you:
Garlic is a fantastic booster for your whole body.  It kills yeast infections and overgrowths of pathogenic (“bad”) bacteria in your gut.  This is good news if you want to sort out your digestion or achieve beautiful skin.  Garlic’s sulphur compounds also support your liver to clear chemicals, used-up hormones and other toxins out of your body.  Skin conditions are usually largely due to problems in the digestive system.  Sort those out and you have dont more than 90% what you need to do.  If you are not used to eating garlic, especially raw garlic, start with a little and gradually build up.  Garlic is in my top 10 vitality boosting foods.  Spices like cumin and cayenne pepper also have great benefits – anti inflammatory, anti-ageing and more.  Have you had your spices today?