Off to tahini

Every health-conscious food lover probably has made hummus from scratch. A can of garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained, a quarter cup of tahini and some sautéed garlic and onion, a little lemon juice, process until smooth… ta-da! Fresh hummus in an amount that you can finish off quickly, for a fraction of the price of the fancy processed brands.

But what to do with the rest of that can of tahini? It's made of sesame seeds, and as we know, sesame seeds go rancid in record time.

Fear not the tahini. With a little forethought, it can be swirled into many other uses besides hummus and baba ghanoush. Here are some ways to use tahini:

• Whisk it with lemon juice until slightly thinned for an excellent sauce for fish.
• Thin it with some more lemon juice and water, add a little salt for a low-fat salad dressing.
• Cook it with sugar to make halva, a Middle Eastern treat.
• Process with garlic, basil and Parmesan for a pesto; thin with a little pasta water before tossing it with your noodles.
• Add a little to any recipe that could use a nutty note.