Recipe for roasted green beans and potatoes with creamy sesame dressing {vegetarian, gluten-free}
A new-to-the-blog reader, who happens to live nearby in Rhode Island, mentioned recently that she's been reluctant to try some ethnic recipes because she doesn't believe in single-purpose ingredients. Of course that's the premise behind this site, to use what's in our pantries in more than one way. This recipe for roasted green beans and potatoes with creamy sesame dressing proves the point. If you have a tin of tahini (sesame paste) in your pantry, odds are you're planning to make hummus. I love hummus, and I've shared recipes for asparagus, lemon-onion, and roasted red pepper and garlic hummus, but there's so much more you can do with tahini. Like peanut butter, which makes a good substitute, nutty tahini blends with tangy ingredients like buttermilk, lemon or yogurt to make wonderful and unexpected salad dressings and sauces with Middle Eastern flair. Use any vegetables you have on hand; I like beans and potatoes, but bell pepper, onion, broccoli, zucchini or eggplant -- or all of them together -- also would be delicious in this recipe.
Roasted green beans and potatoes with creamy sesame dressing
From the pantry, you'll need: tahini, lemon, zahtar, honey, red pepper flakes, olive oil.
Serves 4-6; can be multiplied.
Ingredients
1 lb tiny Yukon Gold or red new potatoes, cut in half
12 oz haricot vert or young green beans, trimmed
2 tsp olive oil
Kosher salt
Fresh black pepper
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup tahini (or peanut butter)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp zahtar
1/2 tsp honey
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Directions
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Spread the potatoes and green beans on a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with olive oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Toss with your hands to coat all of the vegetables.
Roast the vegetables for 20 minutes. Remove green beans and continue cooking potatoes for an additional 10-15 minutes, until they are nicely crusty brown on at least one side. Remove the potatoes.
In a bowl, whisk together buttermilk, tahini, lemon, zahtar, honey and red pepper flakes. Taste, and add salt and pepper as needed.
Pour the dressing over the warm vegetables, and serve.
More simple sesame recipes in The Perfect Pantry:
Turkey-falafel meatballs with pasta, spinach and tahini dressing
Potato salad with sesame dressing
Roasted asparagus hummus
Cold sesame noodles
Cucumber and chicken salad with sesame ginger dressing
Other recipes that use these pantry ingredients:
Roasted butternut squash wedges with tahini-yogurt sauce, sumac, and Aleppo pepper, from Kalyn's Kitchen
Chickpea, spinach, and tahini soup, from Soup Chick
Asparagus with maple tahini dressing, from Gluten-Free Goddess
Homemade falafel with tahini sauce, from Just a Taste
Baked za'atar eggplant fries with lemon tahini dip, from The Kitchn
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Yes, I have tahini! As you say, one unfamiliar with the ingredient does not know what to do besides hummus.(No zahtar. Yet). This is right up my alley. It doesn't get better than green beans and potatoes. A creamy dressing? Oh, yeah.
Connie, zahtar is a lemony mix of dried spices. You can substitute thyme or lemon thyme.
This sounds delicious. I'd love to try it with sweet potatoes!
Kalyn, sweet potatoes would be glorious here.
Lydia,
I love it when I have all the ingredients for a recipe (save zahtar, but I do have sumac and a pinch of that with some thyme ought to do).
I'm making this for my visiting folks for lunch.
Thanks!
Kirsten, you know me -- I'm always saying "use what you've got", and this is a great example. Sumac with thyme will be perfect!
Boom! Done! This dressing is delicious, Lydia! I made just a lunch amount, and honestly scarfed up half of the roasted green beans right off of the pan before I even dressed them, but yum. It's finger licking good, and both my octogenarian parents agreed.
I've got a small jar of extra dressing, and will toss that with roasted beets tonight for grins and giggles.
Thanks for an excellent recipe!
Kirsten, thanks for the feedback, and I'm so glad your parents liked the lunch! Now, roasted beets? Yes, please!
I love the idea of this creamy sesame tahini dressing Lydia. I've also used tahini as a coating in an herb crusted chicken recipe I found in the NY Times a few years back.
are they any good substitues for Zahtar -other than sumac (which I don't have either!) Suggestions?
Jeanette, once you've mixed up this dressing, you can use it on anything!
Laurie, great question. I'd use some dried thyme, with the tiniest bit of lemon zest.
I love tahini, just love the flavor it adds to so many things. The creamy dressing sounds fabulous! Great over vegetables but ooog great in lamb kabobs or sandwiches!