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25
Jun
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Honey-Tahini Tilapia |
When I tell people that I love to cook the first thing they often ask is what my specialty is. Seriously, I don’t think I have one. There are just a handful of meals I make over and over again in exactly the same way. If anything, I guess my specialty is experimenting and coming up with new things! I’m not afraid to change things up.
I guess I’m just really indiscriminate when it comes to food. Heck, I don’t even have a favorite vegetable or a favorite fish, nevermind a favorite food of all time. There is absolutely no way I could pick a favorite dessert! So it’s kind of surprising that I can tell you exactly what my favorite food in Greece was without hesitating: the grilled Haloumi and tomatoes served with a honey-wine-tahini sauce that we ate at Strogili in Oia.
It was completely unexpected, and utterly delicious and different than anything else I’ve eaten. If I hadn’t harassed the waiter for the sauce ingredients, I could never have told you that it contained tahini, honey, wine, and mint. All I could say is that it was really freaking good and I savored every last bit. (Oh, yeah, I shared some with Ben too.)
I knew I’d be trying to recreate this at home, so when I saw a jar of tahini with honey in a grocery store in Mykonos (yes, I hit up grocery stores on vacation) I didn’t hesitate to buy it. When I opened it at home I was in love – this tahini was velvety soft and smooth unlike the regular tahini I’ve used.
“Can I buy this in the US?” I have no idea – check your local Mediterranean markets. “Can I make my own by blending tahini and honey?” I bet you can, but don’t ask me the proportions – just give it a shot!
Not surprisingly, I tested this out during our first week back. I didn’t have any haloumi, but I did have plenty of tilapia and it’s probably healthier to eat tilapia for dinner than just a plate of haloumi cheese. But I’ll do that some other time, regardless.
I didn’t have any wine open (not that I have a clue what kind they used) or mint, but I did have lemon juice, champagne vinegar, and basil, so I decided to employ those. After a few rounds of add-mix-taste-adjust (and using some water to thin it to the right consistency), I found something I was quite pleased with. Actually, make that very pleased. I will probably still tweak it next time, but this was pretty good for a first shot! I could have ate it all up with a spoon, but I spread resisted and saved it for the tilapia.
The sauce on the tilapia was nice and different – not quite as good as with haloumi, which gives a little salty contrast, but still very enjoyable. (I think salmon might have been a better choice since it works well with sweet flavors – I’ll have to try that next time!) We ate this alongside Swiss chard (a nice greeting from our garden upon our return!) sauteed with artichokes, garlic and lemon.
Honey-Tahini Tilapia
3 tablespoons tahini with honey
1 1/2 teaspoons champagne vinegar
splash of lemon juice
1 teaspoon finely minced fresh basil or mint
water, to thin as necessary
salt, to taste
2 tilapia filets, about 4 1/2 ounces each (or other mild white fish, or salmon, because I think that would be really good though I haven’t tried it yet!)
salt, pepper, and lemon juice
Preheat oven to 375ºF.
Combine tahini, champagne vinegar, lemon juice and basil. Whisk together, adding water as necessary to thin it out a bit. The sauce should be pourable, but not runny.
Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Place the fish on the foil and season with salt, pepper, and a splash of lemon juice.
Bake for 10-15 minutes or until almost cooked through. Remove from oven, spread a little of the sauce on each piece of fish, and return to oven for 2-3 minutes. Before serving, drizzle the remaining sauce over the fish.
Note: I’m skipping the nutritional information on this one. Most Greek nutrition labels quantify the nutritional value per 100gm, not the actual serving size. I didn’t feel like doing the math. Just eat and enjoy, knowing that you are consuming wholesome, nutritious, unprocessed food! 
I'm Cara, lover of creative, clean food and healthy living. Pumpkin, goat cheese, and eggplant make me swoon. I have an insatiable sweet tooth and desire to lift heavy things. 
Barbara — June 25, 2010 @ 12:54 pm
Wow. That's the way to perk up tilapia, Cara! Great sauce and because I love salmon more, I'll take your suggestion and try the sauce with that.
Tasha — June 25, 2010 @ 12:59 pm
Mmmm. This looks so good! I'm going to have to experiment with tahini and honey very soon. Love the idea of this sauce on salmon!
Kalyn — June 25, 2010 @ 1:39 pm
I've never seen tahini with honey, but I'm intrigued, and this recipe sounds great!
Alexandra London-Gross — June 25, 2010 @ 1:51 pm
Oh haloumi, how you have such a special place in my heart. That tahini sauce sounds amazing, I'll definitely have to try that soon!Alex @ ieatasphalt.com
Dawn — June 25, 2010 @ 2:58 pm
God that mixture sounds so amazing. Maybe I will try that on tofu.
Kelly — June 25, 2010 @ 3:01 pm
Yum. I love that you harassed her for the recipe. I need to get better at that. I also LOVE your answer to the specialty question. I get asked the same thing all the time too and struggle to come up with a response because like you, I don't tend to make the same thing more than once. I think that's what comes with having a blog, I always feel like I should make something different so I have something to write about!
mr. pineapple man — June 25, 2010 @ 5:13 pm
looks amazing!
Joanne — June 25, 2010 @ 5:37 pm
This looks incredible! I have a serious passion for tahini and it really would go perfect with honey (kind of like honey roasted peanut or almond butter I guess). I love that you put it over tilapia. I think I'm going to have to try it both ways though…halloumi needs to be featured in my life!
Athena — June 25, 2010 @ 9:55 pm
This sounds really interesting to make, especially for a guest dinner. It's nice to be able to serve someone something they've never tried before! I'll definitely try it out with salmon. And I think it's a good thing that you don't have a favorite food or vegetable even! It makes for awesome, unique recipes!
grace — June 26, 2010 @ 11:19 am
it seems rare to find tahini in anything other than hummus, so i'm excited to see this tasty sauce!
marla {Family Fresh Cooking} — June 26, 2010 @ 1:45 pm
I gotta stumble this now! What a great sauce for the tilapia. Love the combo of honey & tahini.Ohhhh, I too would love it over salmon. I just read a post that you can put Halloumi cheese directly on the grill. Never have tried the stuff, but need to now! xo
Averie (LoveVeggiesAndYoga) — June 27, 2010 @ 12:53 am
honey, wine, tahini..swoon at that flavor combo! I could drink that i think 🙂
Susan (peebsmama) — June 27, 2010 @ 12:32 pm
I will definitely be giving this one a try. Looks simple and with very different flavors.The traditional recipe for Tahinomelo is usually a one to one ratio – so 2 tbl of honey to 2 tbl tahini. But then you can tweak it to suit your taste. I tend to add a little more tahini because I don't like things so sweet.
Kerstin — June 27, 2010 @ 5:20 pm
Haha – I'm glad you got the ingredients out of the waiter – looks incredible! And I always check out local grocery stores wherever we are too!
vdubb — June 28, 2010 @ 3:22 pm
My mouth is watering right now! That looks so good!! Writing it down on my to do list right now! – Vicky
preventionrd.com — June 28, 2010 @ 7:12 pm
Tahini is soooo delicious! I am doing to have to make this!
*Naomi* — June 29, 2010 @ 12:27 am
this sounds so different and delicious! i want to make it asap!!
Thinspired — June 29, 2010 @ 4:55 am
I'm definitely going to try this recipe–every time I defrost tilapia or cod, I never know what the heck to do with it! Love the honey in this 🙂
<b>Oni Oost</b> — June 30, 2010 @ 1:14 pm
This post has been removed by the author.
Oni (This Little Green Book) — June 30, 2010 @ 1:16 pm
I've just found your blog and what an amazing recipe to start with. I'll be trying this on tofu – can't wait to take a bite
*Naomi* — April 5, 2011 @ 1:24 am
this sounds so different and delicious! i want to make it asap!!
vdubb — April 5, 2011 @ 1:24 am
My mouth is watering right now! That looks so good!! Writing it down on my to do list right now! – Vicky
Alexandra London-Gross — April 5, 2011 @ 1:24 am
Oh haloumi, how you have such a special place in my heart. That tahini sauce sounds amazing, I'll definitely have to try that soon!Alex @ ieatasphalt.com
Barbara — April 5, 2011 @ 1:24 am
Wow. That's the way to perk up tilapia, Cara! Great sauce and because I love salmon more, I'll take your suggestion and try the sauce with that.