Lemon Tahini Salad Dressing

If you live in or near the Chicago suburbs you have likely (I hope!) been to Pita Inn, a glorious fast-food Middle Eastern restaurant. One of my favorite pastimes is stuffing my face with everything vegan on their menu - which is a lot of stuff. In high school I even had them on speed-dial and now I've promoted Aaron to "Favorites" status over Pita Inn - sorry, falafel, I guess I should put my husband first. Anyways, their Jerusalem Salad is a very simple salad of tomatoes and cucumbers with a tahini dressing. This is my attempt to re-create it and while I don't think it's exactly the same it is very tasty.

Lemon Tahini Salad Dressing (makes a generous 1/2 cup)

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

1/4 cup tahini (near the peanut butter in the grocery store)

1/4 cup water

1 tsp. white vinegar

1 rounded Tbls. maple syrup

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

1/8 tsp. citric acid

1/2 tsp. dried basil

Whisk all ingredients together. Let sit for 15 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to blend together.

I like it over a simple salad of kale, tomato, and cucumber topped with parsley and sesame seeds.