Ingredients

• 1/4 cup Tahini (sesame paste)
• 1/4 cup cold water
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 tiny clove garlic, crushed
• salt
• optional: olive oil, cayenne, paprika, cumin, parsley
• Dipping: quartered onions, carrot sticks, cucumbers, sliced sweet peppers, assorted pickles, pita

Directions

• Beat tahini and water together with a fork. It will suddenly turn pale and get very thick and smooth.
• Thin it slightly by beating in the lemon juice. If it is too thick, add a little more water or lemon, tasting. It should be thicker than mayonaise or hummos.
• Mix in a tiny amount of garlic. Too little is better than too much. The garlic flavor gets stronger with each passing hour.
• If you want, swirl some oil on top or sprinkle on one of: cayenne, paprika, cumin and/or parsley.
• Serve immediately with cucumber sticks, onion quarters, carrots and pita to dip in it.
• If you need to make it in advance, cover tightly and refrigerate. It discolors and gets garlicky as it ages.