Tahini is probably best known for the part it plays in providing a nutty base note to dips such as hummus and baba ghanoush. It is enormously popular around the Middle East, where it is also used, thinned down with water and flavoured with garlic and lemon juice, as a sauce for cold baked fish. On its own, it can be too strong and bitter for European palates, but combined with yoghurt, it becomes smooth and creamy with a mysteriously earthy flavour.