Tahini

Brush butternut squash with maple-chile oil before roasting, then top with a lemon-tahini dressing and herby quinoa.

This dish is all about assembly, not time at the stove. You’ll quickly sauté chickpeas and corn, then gather the supporting characters: lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, feta, and lime.

A thick pour of magic shell over ice cream is simultaneously creamy and crackly, both smooth and shattery. But the real mind-blowing thing about it? It's a snap to make at home.

This cake is a tie-dyed composition of textures and flavors that starts with a tahini-enriched blondie base and continues with vanilla ice cream layered with seedy maple syrup and bands of cooked plums.

This grilling method gives similar crispy skins and creamy interiors to eggplant, which need just a handful of toppings to get full-on delicious.

Charring cauliflower on the grill turns the exterior crisp and golden, while the internal flesh becomes sweet and nutty. Cutting the head into wedges first maximizes the caramelized surface.

We took millionaire bars—shortbread plus caramel plus chocolate—and gave them an upgrade (hence, billions) with sesame seeds and tahini. The shortbread is tender, the filling is gooey, and the chocolate ties it all together.

In this salad, the color palette—pale whites and browns—may leave something to be desired, but the gorgeous medley of textures and very complementary flavors makes up for it. This is an attractive one to serve for a dinner party.

The best thing about this classic sesame-based confection (aside from the fact that it’s so delicious) is how easy it is to make at home.

Steaming offers extreme speed and high hydration, which means that whatever you cook—from seasonal vegetables to proteins—will be done quickly and always moist.

If you don’t have a grill or a gas stovetop, you can broil the eggplants in the oven, turning occasionally, until charred and tender.

Get all the flavors of falafel with crispy roasted chickpeas, crunchy crouton-like pita chips, crisp cucumber, and a lemon-tahini dressing.

Composed of four elements—vegetables, a grain, a protein, and a sauce—grain bowls like this one are simple, nutrient-dense, and very pretty to serve.

This nutrient-dense, gluten-free quick bread keeps for days and is a great vehicle for nut butters, dips, and spreads. Snacktime, solved.

Melt tahini with chocolate in whatever shade you please for a glossy bittersweet filling that will sandwich together rich cocoa shortbreads.

Salt and bittersweet chocolate lend a savory, sophisticated edge to this typically saccharine-sweet dessert.

This dish is compulsively delicious. One adult could easily eat the entire head of cauliflower for dinner and feel good about it.

If you love hummus or baba ghanoush, this dairy-free dip will become a new favorite. Just make sure you have plenty of warm flatbread to scoop it all up.

This is the condiment version of those summer sandals you want to wear with everything. It goes with sandwiches, crunchy vegetables, and chips.

With tahini, miso, a touch of sweetness, and rice vinegar, this umami-lover’s dream salad is the perfect way to put a fresh spin on a Western classic.