Miso Tahini Sauce
The sauce I put on just about everything.
This is a sauce I’ve been making for years. I can’t quite remember how long ago my love affair with this sauce began, but she’s my go to. My tried and true. Nearly every time I roast a big sheet pan of vegetables, I whip up some miso tahini sauce to drizzle over it, but a drizzle never seems to be quite enough. Eventually, I wind up dunking the veggies directly into the sauce. And often I plunge my spoon straight into the bowl and end my meal with a few spoonfuls of this piquant, silky homemade condiment.
This is a sauce that I also love over roasted chicken or pan-seared pork chops. It’s really fun to see how the flavors change a bit when you dress it on different foods. It would probably be excellent over some crispy seared tofu. My pan of veggies included just about every vegetable I had hanging around my kitchen: red-skinned potatoes, sweet potatoes, fennel, celery, red onion, brussels sprouts, radishes, and turnips. When caramelized, these flavors mix together really well, with pops of bitter and sweet, and the sauce on top really marries them all together gorgeously.
Generally, my palette is drawn to tangy flavors, so this sauce leans a bit tangy from the sherry vinegar, but you’ll find my note below about adding some olive oil to take the edge off a bit if you prefer a mellower taste. You could also use less vinegar. I do think the sherry vinegar is part of what makes this sauce so delicious. A rice wine vinegar might work nicely too, but there’s a richness to the sherry vinegar that is absent from your traditional red wine vinegar. I think years ago I tried it with balsamic and, while I can’t recall how I felt about it, I’m guessing the touch of sweetness might be really nice. This is a fun one to experiment with—both in preparation and what you put it on.
This makes enough sauce to drizzle over a sheet pan of roasted vegetables, a cut up roasted chicken, or two pork chops (maybe with enough leftover to eat with a spoon).
Ingredients
3 tablespoons of tahini
1 heaping tablespoon of miso paste - you’ll want a mellow miso here (it makes a difference!). I recommend Miso Master Mellow White Miso.
1 tablespoon of sherry vinegar - as noted above, the sherry vinegar provides a more well-rounded flavor (compared to a red wine vinegar). Rice wine vinegar would also be great and balsamic could work too. If using a different vinegar, I would start with less and to taste.
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
3.5 tablespoons of water - if you want a thinner sauce, add more water
1 tablespoon EVOO (optional) - this helps take the punchiness from the vinegar down if that’s how your taste leans
I also something throw in a few shakes of turmeric powder and black pepper just to get a dose of turmeric in—great for a myriad of things, including inflammation.
How to make it
Add all ingredients except EVOO (if adding) to a bowl and whisk until smooth.
If adding EVOO, whisk it in.
Enjoy drizzled over whatever your heart desires! You’ll want to lick the bowl if there’s any sauce left behind.
