“Once you go tahini, you’ll never go back,” Eden Grinshpan declared. Grinshpan has hosted Top Chef Canada since 2017, ran a restaurant in New York’s trendy Nolita district for one year, published her first cookbook in 2020, and has run her own social media brand and cooking channel, Eden Eats, for over a decade. Grinshpan’s newest venture, her second cookbook Tahini Baby, coming in April 2025, celebrates this versatile and vibrant condiment that can change the way you look at your protein intake.
She calls Tahini Baby “accidentally vegetarian,” a cookbook of inventive and bright recipes that just happen to exclude animal protein. Grinshpan herself isn’t a vegetarian but growing up with an Israeli family meant tahini was always present as a protein source. Though the meat in shawarma and laffa is delicious, she came to realize that tahini could stand on its own.
Besides protein, tahini is also a superfood, with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant qualities. Tahini (you might hear Hebrew or Arabic speakers say “tahin-uh” with a guttural ch) is a paste of ground sesame seeds. Look for ones made from high-quality sesame seeds that have been soaked, hulled, toasted, then ground in small batches.The result is a flavorful, rich condiment. It’s a key ingredient in hummus and shows up as a side with lemon juice, garlic, and salt at most tables in the Levant. In advance of Tahini Baby’s 2025 release, Grinshpan shared some of her tahini strategies and cooking philosophy with TABLE.
Eden Grinshpan Shares Her Tahini Tips from Tahini Baby
Free Yourself from Store-Bought Hummus
If you’ve ever met anyone from a Levantine country, chances are they have strong opinions about hummus. Every person has the recipe they prefer. But as a consumer in the West, you might not even know what’s in hummus and how easy it is to make yourself. All it takes is tahini, chickpeas, olive oil, and lemon juice.
The ratios of those ingredients are what give hummus its character. “I like a tahini-heavy hummus with a bit of ice water. The ice water makes it really light, creamy, and airy,” Grinshpan said. And while you want quality, there’s nothing wrong with just using the chickpeas you have. “I’m a mom, and I want my recipes to be approachable and easy. I use canned chickpeas for my hummus and it turns out delicious.”
Pick the Correct Tahini
Buying tahini is not the time to cheap out, Grinshpan cautions in Tahini Baby. You want quality tahini, because something you use so frequently that will last so long in your fridge should be good. “The sign of a fresh tahini is when you shake it, the oil that separates and goes to the top should blend back into the paste,” she said.
The best quality tahini uses sesame seeds from Humera, Ethiopia. She uses Seed + Mill and Soom, two high quality tahini brands that also happen to be woman-owned. Ideally, once you buy that tahini, you’ll be adding garlic and lemon to it to make Grinshpan’s “condiment to end all condiments” garlicky tahini, or mixing it up to create harissa, baba ghanoush, or Yemeni zoug.
Have a Vision for the Table
Once you’ve got a handle on the basics, Grinshpan encourages people to look at the full picture of how the tahini fits into their table, and not limit its use to just one dish or, worse, to a bottle that sits in their fridge. Tahini is vegan but the lack of animal protein doesn’t mean a lack of indulgence. “One of the things that turns people off from cutting out animal protein is feeling like the table isn’t complete without it,” she said. When you have a meal without that chicken or turkey centerpiece, you have to think about how you’re configuring the meal. Tahini Baby can help with star quality centerpiece meals, not just sides.
“Try to imagine the most bountiful table and make bright dishes. It’s so much fun to mix and match sides and mains,” she said A little bit of tahini beside something adds an extra bit of protein that rounds out a salad, but something like Grinshpan’s Eggplant Chickpea Khouresh with Buttery Saffron Rice is a plant-based table centerpiece that stands on its own.
Spice Consistently
“I didn’t want to write a cookbook where I ask you to buy one spice, then it dies a slow death in your pantry and you never use it again,” Grinshpan said. “I buy so many spices, I’m fully addicted—my pantry is kind of concerning.” But she recommends people be realistic with themselves about their spice preferences.
She says to use half if you aren’t sure how you’ll like something, then add more. And be strategic in the spice purchases for how you’re going use them in what you make. Tahini Baby recommends stocking cardamom, fenugreek, Aleppo pepper, Baharat, caraway, cardamom, turmeric, and cinnamon among other things if you’re curious about Middle Eastern cooking and want to incorporate it into your weekly eating.
Embrace Tahini’s Versatility
For the sweet-heavy American palate, putting tahini in desserts might seem odd. But Grinshpan has recipes for fudge pops and rugelach for tahini in Tahini Baby. “It has this earthy, rich, satisfying flavor that balances out the sweetness,” she said. “I like raw tahini on a scoop of vanilla ice cream as a two-ingredient dessert.”
Life is short, and Tahini Baby offers all kinds of ways you can indulge, relax, and feel good about what you’re eating. Grinshpan writes in the cookbook’s introduction that “what it all comes down to is that this book is about food that makes you feel good. With their vibrant colors and bright, balanced flavors, these dishes can only be described as happy-making. No matter who you’re sharing them with (or not), eating well and having a great time doing it is the entire assignment.”
Story by Emma Riva / Photo by Chris Bernabeo
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