“Tahini has a beautiful versatility,” says Fadi Kattan, chef/co-founder of Akub in London and author of Bethlehem, “from a drizzle over your morning toast or granola, to an earthy background flavour in a sauce, to all sorts of cakes and cookies.” So the question really ought to be: is there anything this creamy, rich ground sesame paste can’t turn its hand to?
For Kattan, autumn means a kofta bake, featuring mince – “ideally half lamb, half beef” – finely chopped onions, chopped parsley, a bit of salt and some spices: “Black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and a predominant presence of allspice.” That’s all combined, then it goes into a greased roasting tray and is baked at 180C for 20 minutes. While that’s cooking, “make a paste of tahini with a splash each of lemon juice and water, crushed garlic and salt”. That gets spread over the top of the half-cooked kofta, then back in the oven with it for about half an hour to get nice and crackly. “It’s a very flavoursome and warming dish,” says Kattan, who would be inclined to serve it with a simple rocket salad dressed with olive oil, lemon and sumac.
