New Cookbook Alert: Tahini & Turmeric, 101 Middle Eastern Classic Made Irresistibly Vegan

Tahini and turmeric are two of our favorite secret ingredeints to incorporate into our recipes at home to really boost flavor. We were particularly excited when our friends at May I Have That Recipe debuted their new cookbook Tahini & Turmeric, 101 Middle Eastern Classic Made Irresistibly Vegan at the end of May. The pages are bursting with beautiful recipes with big flavors that are totally vegan and easy to make.

On May 29th, Vicky Cohen and Ruth Fox welcomed their new cookbook Tahini & Turmeric, 101 Middle Eastern Classic Made Irresistibly Vegan to the scene. The book is filled with approachable recipes inspired by the dishes of Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, the Mediterranean cuisines and beyond. Each concoction is beautiful, colorful, delicious and has plenty of nutritional value.

The photos will not only make your tastebuds sing, but each chapter will tantalize your mind with descriptions and histories of Middle Eastern foods and spices. Leaving packaged foods behind, this cookbook shares rich dishes that help you savor beautiful flavors, without meat or other animal products, and still feel full and satisfied. Whether you are vegan or not, this is a cookbook you should add to your kitchen collection. Check out one of our favorite recipes from the book, a vegan tahini cheesecake made with cashews and dates and topped with a stunning mound of pomegranate seeds.

Excerpted from Tahini and Turmeric: 101 Middle Eastern Classics—Made Irresistibly Vegan by Ruth Fox & Vicky Cohen. Copyright ©2018. Available from Da Capo Lifelong Books, an imprint of Perseus Books, LLC, a subsidiary of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

Creamy Tahini Cheesecake with Pistachio Crust and Fresh Pomegranate

Ruth Fox and Vicky Cohen

We’ve been making dairy-free cheesecake for years, and we’ve always used dairy-free cream cheese as our base. That is until we discovered how ground, soaked cashews have the extraordinary ability to mimic pretty much every single dairy product from ricotta to cream cheese. Cashews are incredibly versatile. In this recipe, they work beautifully with the tahini (which also adds a subtle nutty flavor), and the result is a rich and creamy cheesecake. The slightly tart pomegranate seeds cut through the creaminess of the cashew and tahini base, also providing a touch of crunch. To further accentuate the Middle Eastern flavors of this luscious dessert, we make the crust with dates and pistachios. This recipe works best when prepared in a 7-inch springform pan. You can use a bigger mold if that is what you have on hand, but take into consideration that the cheesecake will not be as tall. The leftover cheesecake can be frozen in an airtight container for up to a month. We recommend removing the pomegranate seeds from the top before freezing.

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Prep Time 1 hr 45 mins

Total Time 1 hr 45 mins

Course Dessert

Ingredients

  

• 2 cups raw cashews
• 1 ½ cups boiling water
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons shelled pistachios
• 20 pitted dates or 10 pitted Medjool dates
• ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon tahini
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil melted
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened nondairy milk
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

TOPPING:

• 1 cup vegan chocolate chips
• 2 teaspoons coconut oil
• 1 cup pomegranate seeds

EQUIPMENT:

• 7- inch springform pan

Instructions

 

• Place the cashews in a heatproof bowl. Add the boiling water. Soak for 30 minutes and then drain.
• In the meantime, prepare the crust: Combine 1 cup of the pistachios, dates, and 1 tablespoon of tahini in a food processor. Pulse until well combined and transfer the mixture to a 7-inch springform pan. Press down evenly, so the mixture comes about halfway up the sides of the pan. Refrigerate until you’re ready to use it.
• Prepare the filling: Combine the drained cashews, ½ cup of the tahini, and the maple syrup, melted coconut oil, nondairy milk, lemon juice, and vanilla in the food processor. Pulse until smooth, scraping the sides occasionally. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and fold in the remaining 2 tablespoons of pistachios. Pour the filling over the prepared crust and freeze for 1 hour.
• Remove the cheesecake from the freezer and refrigerate until ready to serve.
• Right before serving, prepare the chocolate topping: Place the chocolate chips and coconut oil in a medium-size, heatproof glass bowl. Fill a medium-size saucepan halfway with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat to simmer and place the bowl of chocolate over the saucepan, making sure the boiling water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl. Let the chocolate melt, stirring frequently. Alternatively, melt the chocolate in a microwave, at 20-second intervals on standard power until completely melted, making sure to stir well each time (this will prevent the chocolate from seizing).
• Drizzle the melted chocolate on top of the cheesecake. Garnish with fresh pomegranate seeds.