Black sesame macarons (above)
Easy on the eye and devastatingly delicious: sweet with a nutty finish.
Linda Xio, thetarttart.com
Makes 20 macarons
60g black sesame seeds
120g icing sugar
40g caster sugar
2 egg whites
¼ tsp salt
A few drops of black gel food colouring
For the peanut butter filling
60g smooth salted peanut butter
100g icing sugar
50g butter, room temperature
A pinch of salt
1 Preheat your oven to 160C/325F/gas mark 3. Line two baking sheets with baking paper.
2 Grind the sesame seeds and icing sugar in a food processor until fine – about 3 minutes, as the sesame seeds are harder to grind up
– then sift the mixture into a bowl. Most of it should go through, but if a lot doesn't, put it back in the food processor and grind for another minute or so.
3 Put the caster sugar in a bowl with the egg whites, then whisk with a stand mixer or electric whisk at a medium speed for 3 minutes. Increase the speed, then whisk for a further 3-5 minutes. By now, there should be a stiff meringue in the bowl. Stop the mixer, add a few drops of colouring then turn it back on to the highest speed, whisking for an additional minute to incorporate the colour. Knock the meringue that's trapped in the whisk back into the bowl.
4 Now, add the sesame seed mixture into the bowl all at once and fold in, until incorporated, being careful to not knock all the air out of the mix.
5 Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain nozzle with the mix, then pipe discs on to a tray linedwith baking paper. Bake for about 15 minutes, at which point the shells should be able to be cleanly picked off the baking paper. Let them cool.
6 To make the filling, mix all the ingredients together until smooth, then use to sandwich the macaroons.
Soba noodles with gomadare sesame seed sauce
Gluten, dairy and hassle-free. Serve either as a main, or alongside steamed fish or grilled chicken.
The Guilt-Free Gourmet, Jessica and Jordan Bourke (Ryland, Peters and Small)
Serves 2
200g buckwheat soba noodles
2 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp sesame seeds, lightly toasted
2 tbsp white miso paste
½ tbsp dark soy sauce
½ tbsp agave syrup
½ tbsp rice vinegar
90ml neri goma (Japanese sesame paste) or tahini mixed with 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
110ml dashi
1 spring onion, chopped
½ tsp black sesame seeds
1 Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and cook the soba noodles according to the packet instructions. Meanwhile, bring the mirin to a fast boil in another saucepan for a minute or so to cook off some of the alcohol, then remove from the heat.
2 To make the gomadare sauce, put the sesame seeds, mirin, miso paste, soy sauce, agave syrup, rice vinegar and neri goma in a bowl and mix well. Slowly mix in the dashi, bit by bit, until you reach your desired consistency.
3 When the noodles are cooked, drain well and twist into a high mound on each plate with the chopped spring onion piled on top. Spoon the gomadare sauce into a little bowl beside the noodles and sprinkle the black sesame seeds on top. Serve immediately. To eat, pick up a few noodles with chopsticks and dunk them into the gomadare sauce.
Sesame and honey cookies
Speedy and charming little biscuits that make an ideal bed partner for your hot beverage of choice!
JB Bady, Balfour Castle, balfourcastle.co.uk
Makes 15-20
40g butter, softened
120ml vegetable oil
50g honey
1 egg
190g plain flour
75g sesame seeds, toasted
1 tsp baking powder
40g pistachios, roughly crushed
1 Preheat the oven to 175C/350F/gas mark 4. In a bowl, cream together the butter, oil and honey until smooth.
2 Beat in the egg, then add the flour, sesame seeds, baking powder and pistachios and stir to combine.
3 Drop the dough in small ball shapes on to a nonstick baking tray. Bake for 9-12 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool a few minutes on the baking tray.
Sesame coconut fish with chilli spinach
Bursting with flavour and simple to assemble. Serve with steamed rice if you want some carbs.
Supplied by Riverford Farm; riverford.co.uk
Serves 4
4 x 175g pieces of white fish fillet, skinned (or 4 chicken breasts, skinned)
3 tbsp sunflower oil
For the crust
1 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp oyster sauce
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tbsp desiccated coconut
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tbsp chopped coriander
For the spinach
300g spinach, stalks removed
1-2 red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
2cm piece of fresh ginger, finely grated
1 Mix all the ingredients for the crust together and spread them over the fish fillets. Chill for a few hours to firm up.
2 Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Heat 2 tbsp of the sunflower oil in a large, ovenproof frying pan. Put the fish in the hot oil, crust-side down, and cook over a medium heat for about 5 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Carefully turn the fish over with a spatula, transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 4–5 minutes (10 minutes for chicken), until cooked through.
3 Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp sunflower oil in a frying pan, add the chilli and ginger and cook for 2 minutes. Turn up the heat, add the spinach and cook, stirring vigorously, until wilted. Season to taste. Serve the fish on thespinach.
Simit
This classic Turkish street food is easy to make at home with some forward planning and freezes well.
Olga Tikhonova Irez, deliciousistanbul.com
Makes 8
300ml water
7g fresh yeast or 1 tsp dried active yeast
1½ tsp salt
500g flour, plus extra for dusting
140g sesame seeds
60g grape molasses (pekmez)
60ml water
1 Pour the water in a large mixing bowl and dissolve the yeast. Put the salt and one third of the flour in the bowl and stir into a runny pancake-like batter. Continue adding the flour gradually and stirring the thickening batter with the spoon. When about one third of the flour is left, dust a clean working surface with some of it and transfer the dough to the surface. Knead slowly, incorporating the remaining flour – about 10 minutes. The resulting dough will be a bit stiff. Put it in a large bowl, cover with a clingfilm and leave to rise in the fridge overnight.
2 In the morning, dust the work surface with flour. Knead the dough gently a few times to deflate. Divide into 8 equal pieces, shaping each piece into a neat balls. Cover these dough balls with a teatowel and let them rest for 10-15 minutes.
3 Put the sesame seeds in a frying pan over a medium heat. Toss every 2-3 minutes to ensure even browning: after 7-10 minutes, the seeds should pick up a light-brown colour, but make sure they don't turn caramel-brown (as they will taste bitter). Transfer the toasted seeds to a small deep tray.
4 Whisk together the grape molasses and water in a deep wide plate, then take one dough ball and roll it into a long rope – start rolling in the middle and work outwards. If you dusted the dough balls while dividing, you don't need to dust the working surface with the flour: too much flour makes rolling tricky. When the rope is about 60cm long, lift it from the middle and swing a bit to extend it. Now holding the middle in one hand and both ends in the other twist the rope a couple of times. Put the ends into the loop to make a ring. Set aside on a lightly floured surface, cover with kitchen paper and repeat with the rest of the dough.
5 Dip each simit in the molasses and then transfer to a colander/sieve to drain the excess liquid. Once all the simits are dipped, one by one place them in the tray with the toasted sesame seeds and coat well. Arrange the coated simits on two baking trays lined with baking paper and shape each bread ring into a neat round. Leave to prove for 30 minutes, then preheat the oven to high – 240C/475F/gas mark 9.
6 Put a metal tray with boiling water in the bottom of the oven and splash about 60ml water around the interior of the oven: you want a bit of steam in there to ensure dramatic "oven spring" (rising of the bread rings during the initial stages of bakingdough). Bake the simits for 10 minutes. Remove the water tray carefully and let the simits bake for 10 minutes more until the tops and bottoms are reddish brown. Simit is best within just a few hours out of the oven. You can cool down and freeze the baked ones and then warm them up in a high oven.
Date and black sesame hummus
A balance of sweet, salty and savoury, this is very moreish. We recommend it served with crumbled feta and warm pitta.
A Modern Way to Eat, Anna Jones (4th Estate)
Serves 4
400g tin cannellini beans, drained
1 tbsp olive oil
4 medjool dates, roughly chopped
Juice of ½ a lemon
½ tbsp miso paste
Sea salt
2 tbsp date syrup, honey or agave syrup
2 tbsp toasted black sesame seeds
1 Put your beans into a food processor with the olive oil, dates, lemon juice, miso and a pinch of salt and whizz to your preferred consistency. Taste, add more salt if necessary, and loosen with a bit of water or more olive oil if it looks too thick.
2 Once the texture is how you like it, scoop it into a bowl, drizzle with the date syrup and sprinkle with the black sesame seeds.
Sticky sesame wings
Chicken thighs work equally well here. Serve with rice and an ice-cold beer. The epitome of finger-lickin' good.
Deb Perelman, smittenkitchen.com
Serves 4
1.5kg chicken wings
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
1-2 tbsp mild honey to taste
1 tsp Asian sesame oil
A pinch of cayenne or dash of sriracha
1½ tbsp sesame seeds, lightly toasted
1 spring onion, finely chopped
1 Heat the oven to 220C/425F/gas mark 7. Line a large shallow baking tin with foil and lightly oil it.
2 Mix the garlic, salt, soy, hoisin, honey, sesame oil and cayenne or sriracha, then tip in the chicken wings and stir to coat.
3 Spread wings and any sauce that fell to the bottom of the bowl out on the prepared baking pan in one layer. Roast, turning over once, until cooked through– about 35 minutes. Transfer to a large serving bowl and toss with the sesame seeds and spring onion.
Tahini chocolate puddings
Giving the beloved chocolate fondant a sesame twist with tahini, these rock our worlds. The number of puddings you make willdepend on the size of your mould – youcanuse dariole moulds or even ovenproofteacups.
Maria Elia, Smashing Plates (Kyle Books)
Makes 4–6
150g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
30g cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting
3 tbsp sesame seeds
150g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken intopieces
3 free-range eggs
200g caster sugar
5 tbsp tahini
70g plain flour
A pinch of salt
To serve
Zest of 1 lime
Creme fraiche or ice-cream
1 Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark4. Grease your moulds with butter and dust them with cocoa powder. Sprinkle the base of each with sesame seeds.
2 Melt the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water, but make sure the bowl doesn't actually touch the water. Stir until melted and smooth, then remove from the heat and leave to cool a little.
3 Whisk the eggs and sugar in a large bowl for a good 5 minutes, until pale and fluffy. Add the tahini and stir until combined, then gradually whisk in the cooled chocolate. Sift the flour, cocoa powder and salt into the chocolate mixture and fold in. Pour the mixture into the moulds and put on a bakingtray.
4 Cook the puddings for 12–14 minutes. They should be a little soggy – so a skewer inserted will not come out clean, but you'll have a lovely fudge-like centre! Depending on the size of your moulds, you may need to cook them for a little less, or a little longer.
5 Cool slightly before gently turning out. Dust with cocoa powder and grate a little lime zest over the top, and serve with creme fraiche or ice-cream. The mixture can be made ahead and stored in the fridge for two days, although you'll need to allow a few minutes' more cooking time if cooking from cold.
Smashing Plates, Maria Elia (Kyle Books)
Ginger, citrus and black sesame carrots with edamame and avocado
This crunchy Asian-inspired salad is as vibrant to taste as it is to look at, and great for lunchboxes.
Laura Wright, thefirstmess.com
Serves 6-8 as a side
5-6 carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks
100g frozen shelled edamame, thawed
2 tbsp black sesame seeds
A big handful of coriander leaves, roughly chopped
Salt and black pepper
½ ripe avocado, peeled and chopped
For the ginger citrus dressing
2 tbsp fresh orange juice
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and pepper
1½ tbsp agave nectar/raw honey
2cm piece of ginger, peeled and finely grated
2 drops of toasted sesame oil
2 tbsp grapeseed or other neutral-tasting oil
1 Combine the carrot matchsticks, thawed edamame, sesame seeds and chopped coriander in a large bowl. Season the whole mixture with salt and pepper and toss lightly with your hands. Set aside.
2 In a small-medium bowl, combine the orange juice, lime juice, salt and pepper, agave nectar, ginger and sesame oil. Whisk it all together until incorporated. While whisking with one hand, slowly drizzle in the grapeseed oil until the dressing comes together.
3 Pour the dressing over the carrot and edamame mixture. Toss to combine. Top with the chopped avocado pieces. Garnish the dish with more sesame seeds and coriander ifyoulike.
Sesame and banana bread
Give the faithful banana bread a little more complexity with some toasty sesame flavours. Use a mixture of black and white seeds – it looks gorgeous.
Heidi Swanson, 101cookbooks.com
Serves 10
125g all-purpose flour
140g whole wheat flour
125g dark brown sugar (or muscovado)
¾ tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp salt
200g toasted sesame seeds
80ml extra-virgin olive oil
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
340g mashed, very ripe bananas (about 3 bananas)
60ml plain, whole milk yoghurt (or keffir)
1 tsp freshly grated lemon zest
For the glaze:
85g sifted dark brown sugar (muscovado)
55g caster sugar
4-6 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4, and place a rack in the centre. Butter and flour a 23 x 13cm loaf tin, or equivalent.
2 In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, bicarb and salt. Add 150g plus 1 tbsp of the sesame seeds and combine well.
3 In a separate bowl, mix together the olive oil, eggs, mashed banana, yoghurt and zest. Pour the banana mixture into the flour mixture and fold with a spatula until just combined. Scrape the batter into the prepared tin and bake until golden brown – about 45 minutes. You want to achieve beautiful color on the cake, but at the same time you don't want to bake all the moisture out of it. So the minute you're in that zone, pull it, erring on the side of under-baking versus over.
4 Transfer the tin to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes, then turn the loaf out to cool completely. Meanwhile, prepare the glaze. In a bowl, whisk together the sugars and the lemon juice until smooth. When the cake is completely cool, drizzle the glaze on top of the cake, spreading with a spatula to cover, and finish with the remaining sesame seeds.
