Tahini sauces are wonderful vehicles for adding creaminess to dishes without the need for dairy. Here broccoli florets and radishes are first roasted and then dressed with a curry-spiced tahini dressing and served on a bed of lentils. Pair this with something light and sharp [like a winter green salad] and crusty sourdough bread for a fabulously flavorsome and healthy meal.

Giving exact measurements for tahini dressings can be tricky as each brand* varies so much in thickness (and on how long you’ve had the jar open), so use the recipe below as a guide and add a touch more water or lemon to loosen, or extra tahini to thicken. I’ve suggested Puy lentils for this dish as they hold their shape so well, but they are more expensive. You can use regular brown or green lentils instead — just reduce the cooking time as they normally soften in 15 to 20 minutes, depending on their freshness.

This recipe is excerpted from Sabzi: Vibrant Vegetarian Recipes. Copyright ©2025 by Yasmin Khan. Used with permission of the publisher, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. All rights reserved.

*Editor’s note: I am a huge fan of Soom brand tahini, which only needs a quick stir when opened before using.

Serves 4 to 6 as part of a mezze

 

For the roasted vegetables:

  • 1 pound 9 ounces /700 g broccoli (about 2 crowns)*
  • 5 ounces/140 g radishes (about 16 small red round ones)
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • Salt

 

For the lentils:

  • 1¼ cups/240 g Puy lentils (see headnote)
  • 2½ cups/600 mL just-boiled water
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons lemon juice
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

For the curried tahini sauce:

  • ½ cup/120 mL tahini
  • 5 tablespoons/75 mL lemon juice
  • ¼ cup/60 mL water
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon medium curry powder
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

For the toppings:

  • 6 Medjool dates, pitted and roughly chopped
  • 1 small handful chopped parsley or cilantro leaves (optional)

 

Roast the vegetables

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C.

2. Break up the broccoli florets and slice off the stalks as they naturally separate. Slice the stalks into thick pieces about the same size as the florets.* Put the broccoli and radishes on a large baking sheet and toss with the vegetable oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Roast for about 20 minutes, until cooked but still firm. The broccoli will be slightly charred and that’s OK! Set aside to cool.

 

Cook the lentils

3. While the vegetables are in the oven, combine the lentils and just-boiled water in a small saucepan, cover, and cook over medium heat for 25 to 30 minutes, until the lentils are soft but still have some shape. [Keep an eye on the water level and add more if needed, and/or reduce the heat to a low simmer.] Drain and return to the saucepan, then dress with the olive oil, the lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

 

Make the sauce

4. To make the curried tahini sauce, whisk together the tahini, lemon juice, water, garlic, maple syrup, curry powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper in a small bowl. The sauce will thicken as it sits, so if you are making it ahead of time, you might need to add more water [or lemon juice, and re-whisk].

5. To serve, spread the lentils in a shallow serving dish, spoon over two-thirds of the tahini sauce, pile the roasted broccoli and radishes on top, drizzle over the remaining tahini sauce, and scatter the dates and herbs (if using) on top.

 

*Editor’s note: When I made the recipe, I had too much broccoli to fit on one sheet pan, so I put aside the extra bits of stalk to cook another time. I also roasted my veg for five minutes longer to get some browning on the broccoli. (That’s simply my preference – I could have gone further to cook the radishes more, but I knew the author was aiming for a firm texture to hold up in the salad).