Roasted Garlic Tahini Dressing and Dip

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup tahini (sesame seed paste) I used Trade Joe's Organic
• 2 medium lemons, juiced* about 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon
• 1 medium head of garlic - roasted (see how-to below)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, I used pink Himalayan
• 1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper, freshly ground
• 1 pinch tumeric
• 1 pinch smoked paprika
• 5 tablespoon hot water, filtered (one or two tablespoons more for dressing)

Instructions

1. Roast Garlic: (I roast 2 heads at once, one for another recipe.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut off the top of the garlic head 1/3 inch to expose some of the raw garlic. Place in a small ovenproof dish, add 1/4 cup of extra virgin oil over the garlic (will stream down.) Add some aromatics; 3 thyme leaves and 1 teaspoon peppercorns. Cover tightly with heavy foil and roast for 45 minutes until the garlic has softened. Remove from oven, let cool slightly.
2. Squeeze the softened garlic form this papery skin - will have about 2 1/2 tablespoons of roasted, softened garlic.
3. Make the Dressing/Dip: In a 4 cup food processor, add the tahini, lemon juice, roasted garlic, cumin, sea salt, black pepper, turmeric and smoked paprika. Pulse to combine the ingredients. The mixture will be thick. Add 5 tablespoons of hot water, and run the machine until the dressing/dip is very smooth, about 1 minute. The mixture will thicken as it is refrigerated.
4. Use as is for a dip. For Dressing: Add a little more hot water, 1 tablespoon at a time until the right dressing consistency. (One to two tablespoons.)
5. Refrigerate in a clean, sterile jar for up to 2 weeks.
6. Juicing Lemon Tip: Cut lemons in half. Add to a microwaveable bowl and microwave for 30 seconds to soften the lemons. Let cool until you can handle them - then squeeze lemons, discarding the seeds - a small sieve is helpful. This method gets the most juice out of each lemon.