This roasted tomato tahini is a dish that feels both grounded and alive, with the deep sweetness of slow-roasted tomatoes folded into the rich, nutty body of tahini. It works as a dip, a spread, a sauce over grains or roasted vegetables. Once you make it, you will find reasons to put it on everything.

The secret is in the roasting. An hour in a hot oven transforms an ordinary tomato into something concentrated and almost jammy, with a complexity that no fresh tomato can match. Do not rush this part.

Ingredients

• 5 ripe tomatoes
• 3/4 cup tahini
• 1/4 cup ice-cold water
• 1 tbsp olive oil, plus more for finishing
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• Pine nuts, for topping

Method

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Place the tomatoes whole on a baking sheet and roast for one hour, or until they are deeply roasted, wrinkled, and caramelized in places. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

Once cooled, peel the skins off the tomatoes. Do this over a bowl or a cutting board with a lip so you can catch all the juices that run out. Those juices are full of flavor and go into the blender along with everything else.

Add the peeled tomatoes and all collected juices to a blender along with the ice-cold water. Blend for about three minutes until completely smooth.

Pour the blended tomato mixture into a bowl and add the tahini. Stir well until fully combined, then add the olive oil, salt, and pepper and continue mixing until the texture is smooth and uniform throughout.

To serve, finish with a drizzle of olive oil and a generous scatter of pine nuts over the top.