Recipe: Kismet's Tahini with Green Olives + Calabrian Chile

A spicy little number, for entertaining.

This recipe, from the upcoming Kismet Cookbook, is deceptively simple but so, so delicious and best enjoyed with friends!

This is a spicy little number, and perhaps our favorite tahini topper of all. It should be quite punchy and would be a kick in the pants to any deli sandwich. Tahini isn’t really something you’d want to eat straight from a jar—it’s a little intense. Add water and the texture totally changes to a lush, creamy sauce. Give it a little salt, lemon, and garlic, and the result is a classic tahini sauce (or dip, or spread, or whatever you want to call it). — Kismet Cookbook

For the Tahini Sauce, you will need:

1 cup tahini
1 garlic clove, grated on a Microplane
¼ cup lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
2 teaspoons kosher salt

1. Before measuring, stir the tahini (as you would with separated peanut butter), making sure it’s homogeneous. Add to a medium bowl along with the garlic, lemon juice, and salt and whisk to combine.

2. Slowly add ⅔ cup water to the tahini mixture, whisking vigorously until the mixture is completely smooth and lightly aerated.

3. Refrigerate for up to 5 days.

Tip: You might need more or less water to get to your desired consistency. Good rule of thumb: Go slow. You can always add more water, but it’s much harder to correct having added too much. As you pour the water in, the tahini will get very stiff at first. As you keep going, it will start to thin again

To assemble it, you will need:

1 cup pitted green olives, such as Castelvetrano, coarsely chopped
¼ cup olive oil
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons coriander seeds, coarsely ground in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle
Garlic cloves, grated on a Microplane
2 tablespoons jarred Calabrian chiles, chopped
Grated zest of ½ orange
3 tablespoons orange juice
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
½ cup parsley leaves
2 cups Classic Tahini Sauce (recipe above)

1. Place the olives in a small heatproof bowl.

2. In a small saucepan, combine the olive oil, bay leaf, coriander, and garlic. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until the garlic begins to sizzle, about 5 minutes.

3. Add the Calabrian chiles and orange zest and cook for 2 to 3 minutes longer, stirring occasionally.

4. Stir in the orange juice and vinegar and pour the mixture over the olives. Remove the bay leaf and let cool.

5. To serve, fold in the parsley leaves and spoon on top of the tahini sauce.

Tip: If you have trouble finding a jar of Calabrian chiles, sub in a teaspoon or two of chile flakes. And, the marinated olives can be stored in the fridge for up to 1 week. Let come to room temperature, about 30 minutes, to melt the oil before tossing with the parsley.

“Kismet” Copyright © 2024 by Sara Kramer and Sarah Hymanson. Photographs copyright © 2024 by Chris Bernabeo. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Crown Publishing Group.