Spicy Tahini Date Salad

Because I love making salad dressings with yogurt, it was a no-brainer for me to turn to yogurt to build this dressing’s base. And then a lightbulb went off in my head! It was date season. I remembered visiting a friend in the south of Iran who had set out a platter of glorious, caramel-sweet dates, along with a bowl of tahini and another little bowl of spicy chili powder for us to dip the dates first in the tahini, then in a touch of spice. The combination of the sweetness, nuttiness, and heat was exquisite. I knew right away that I wanted these three flavors for my dressing. But what is a salad without a crunch? So, we toasted sesame seeds, of course.

This recipe was excerpted from ‘Sofreh' by Nasim Alikhani with Theresa Gambacorta, one of the best cookbooks of 2023. Buy the full book on Amazon.