This little bowl of beige puree certainly doesn’t come across as the most visually exciting dish but it really is a winner. So tasty and super versatile. Tarator (yip I spelled that right it’s not our other friend tartare) is a sauce that I have always made using tahini. I first tasted it in a Lebanese restaurant and it’s basically a hummus without the chickpeas. Smooth and great on falafels.
Last Christmas however I came across a tarator using walnuts. A thicker Turkish shake up on the Lebanese version. Now walnuts are not in my top five so this recipe sounded like the ideal way to disguise them a little. I love the history behind food and how recipes travel through generations and take on new facades over time. While further googling the history of tarator I came across another article claiming tarator was Bulgarian born and bred. A refreshing cold soup made with dill, walnuts, yoghurt and cucumber. One for another day using vegan yoghurt methinks. Whatever the true history it is delicious in whichever form you decide upon. I slathered some of this over toasted sourdough and added a little coriander, paprika and pomegranate but it’s plan for tomorrow is to be paired up with some tempeh that is currently bathing in a chilli and green onion salsa in the fridge and if there’s any leftover it will make for the perfect walnut sauce with pasta. I do love a versatile recipe.
100g of walnuts
100ml of olive oil 2 cloves of garlic
Generous splash of white wine vinegar
Salt to season
Juice of 1 lemon and a little rind
Pinch of smoked paprika
A few slices of bread with crusts removed that is soaked in almond milk for a few min
(I kept the remaining milk after draining and plan to use it to loosen up any leftovers and make into a pasta sauce as mentioned above)
Blitz in a food processor
Adjust seasoning and texture to your liking!
Louise
x
Im a little vegan 