Tahini

Tahini is a paste of ground sesame seeds, and its strong flavour is what gives hummus – chickpea purée – its distinctive nutty taste. Tahini is easy to make in a food processor. The sort of seeds you want are the white hulled ones available in any supermarket. Put 115 g / 4 oz sesame seeds in a dry heavy frying pan over a low-to-medium heat and toast, shaking and stirring. If the heat is too high they will burn and pop, shooting about the kitchen in an alarming manner, so keep it down. As they brown they will give off a discernible aroma. Continue cooking until they are a uniform golden colour, then transfer to a food processor. Blitz to a paste, adding cold water through the feeder tube, a tablespoon at a time, until you have a moist spoonable texture. This should take about 100 ml / 3½ fl oz of water. Use immediately or keep in the fridge for 7-10 days in a sterilized screw-top jar. After that time it will start to go rancid.