Tarator Sauce

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Tarator is a delightfully creamy Lebanese sauce that’s rich in healthy fats from sesame seeds, and high in antioxidants from garlic, fresh lemon juice, and cayenne pepper.

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In my version, I’ve added soy sauce for extra savory taste, and a bit of red chili to dial up the flavor. 

Tarator is super creamy and flavorful, full of healthy fats, and wonderful on almost anything. 

It takes only 5-10 minutes to make – only as long as it takes to incorporate the ingredients in a blender. 

Traditionally, tarator has been served with falafel and beef shawarma.

Personally, I love it drizzled on rice, salad, or cooked vegetables. 

You can also pair it with avocado, tomato, cucumbers, bell peppers, etc.

Drizzle tarator sauce on …

• roasted vegetables
• steamed veggies
• rice and other grains
• lentils, such as my Simple French lentils
• chicken or beef
• roasted salmon
• grilled meats

Ingredients

What I love about this sauce is the powerhouse nutritional and medicinal lineup of the ingredients!

TAHINI

Tahini is a paste made from ground-up sesame seeds. Be sure to stir before using as the oils tend to rise to the top.

In Ayurveda, sesame oil is always the oil of choice for the self-massage technique known as abhyanga.

Sesame is heating, alkalizing, and high in calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc, fats, and protein.

Olive oil is good for heart health and has strong anti-inflammatory properties, but when cooking with it, you should always use low temperatures (<365 degrees Fahrenheit) to avoid oxidation.

OLIVE OIL

In general, olive oil is the best choice for raw dressings, and as an extra drizzle on food. A good olive oil will taste pungent and bitter, and hit you in the back of the throat. Look for a bottle that lists the source of the olives, a bottling date, and/or best before date.

FRESH LEMON JUICE 

Fresh lemon juice is an ingredient you’ll find in a lot of my recipes, especially in the spring.

Lemons and limes stimulate your digestive juices and increase hydration. They are also anti-inflammatory and alkaline, despite being sour in taste.

Fresh lemon stimulates bile flow, which aids in fat digestion, reduces congestion, and purifies the blood.

SOY SAUCE

The unmistakable salty “umami” taste of soy sauce comes in many forms. It is typically made from fermented soy beans and wheat. For gluten-free, choose Tamari soy sauce, and for an unfermented option, select liquid coconut aminos or Bragg’s.

GARLIC

Everyone knows garlic, but what you might not know is that it is strongly heating and can aggravate your physiology if you have excess heat and/or inflammation in your body.

Garlic is especially useful to boost immunity, enhance circulation, and break up stagnation (such as excess mucus conditions), but moderate your intake if you are hot and dry.

Here, we’re using just one clove, so most people will do fine with that.

RED CHILI

Small amounts of red chili amplify the flavor, and give anti-inflammatory, and detoxifying effect. The key is to moderate their use.

Storage

Keep unused tarator sauce in in a sealed glass jar. If it thickens up too much in the fridge, add extra water to thin it out. 

Tarator will last 7-10 days in the fridge, and up to 3 months in the freezer.

Optional add-ins

• A pinch of cumin
• fresh herbs, such as cumin or parsley
• lime juice for all, or some, of the citrus