If you asked me to pick a favorite fall vegetable, I couldn’t, wouldn’t, shouldn’t. I’m just as smitten with roasted squash stuffed with grains as I am with shaved Brussels sprouts masquerading as salad, just as giddy about sturdy greens turned into pie for dinner as I am about braised cauliflower pretending to be chicken.
But if you asked me to pick a favorite fall vegetable sauce, easy.
Meet Mapley, Mustardy Tahini Sauce. Its name lists three—of four—ingredients. Add soy sauce and water, stir, and that’s it. You can add more tahini if you want a thicker version for a crudités platter. Or more water if you’d like it thinner for a dressing.
Photo by Julia Gartland
This recipe was developed in the interest of not making a recipe. Because we all have those nights (also known as Monday and, ahem, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday) when you don’t want to be roasting something while sautéeing something while chopping something while, uh, wait, what was that timer for? That’s when this comes in handy.
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Here’s the cheat sheet: fall vegetable + tahini sauce + something hearty = lunch or dinner.
Garlicky, sautéed kale + sauce drizzle + runny egg
Shaved beets + sauce toss + walnuts and crumbled feta
Shaved Brussels sprouts + sauce toss + torn croutons
ABC Kitchen's Butternut Squash on Toast
Even more than its ease, I love the way that its ingredients contrast each other: nutty, rich tahini against sharp, spicy mustard; salty, funky soy against caramely, sweet maple. Add all this up and you have a well-rounded, highly seasoned condiment that makes any vegetable seem purposeful and confident.
Emma is the food editor at Food52. Before this, she worked a lot of odd jobs, all at the same time. Think: stir-frying noodles "on the fly," baking dozens of pastries at 3 a.m., reviewing restaurants, and writing articles about everything from how to use leftover mashed potatoes to the history of pies in North Carolina. Now she lives in New Jersey with her husband and their cat, Butter. Stay tuned every Tuesday for Emma's cooking column, Big Little Recipes, all about big flavor and little ingredient lists. And see what she's up to on Instagram at @emmalaperruque.
This is SO good!! I had to swap in agave because i’m out of maple syrup, and my dijon measure was a bit generous ;) Excellent with my roasted delicata squash/edamame/arugula/cherry tomatoes bowl meal. Will absolutely be making a big batch to keep on hand
Made this tonight, served it over roasted vegetableson rice. It was delicious. I will definitely be making it again. I'm thankful for a new tahini based sauce.
Hi Kara! I haven't tried that, but such a fun idea. One of our contributors EmilyC wrote a recipe for roasted cauliflower with tahini—and that cooks at 475°F: https://food52.com/recipes/71312-crispy-cheesy-tahini-roasted-cauliflower
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