Cava Tahini Caesar

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Cava's tahini Caesar is a genuinely clever piece of substitution, and worth understanding rather than just copying.

A classic Caesar gets its body from egg yolk and its savoury depth from parmesan and anchovy. Tahini does both jobs at once — it emulsifies like a yolk because it is a fat-and-protein paste, and it brings a bitter, savoury weight that stands in for the cheese. Which is why the result reads as a Caesar rather than as "salad dressing with tahini in it".

The one thing that goes wrong

Tahini seizes when you add water to it.

Add liquid to tahini and it does not thin — it stiffens into a thick paste, often so abruptly that people think they have ruined it. It looks broken.

It is not broken. Keep adding liquid and whisking, and it passes through the seized stage and loosens into a smooth cream. The seize is a stage, not a failure.

Add the liquid gradually, a tablespoon at a time, and it barely happens at all.

What you need

• 120 g tahini, well stirred
• 60 ml lemon juice, about 2 lemons
• 2 cloves garlic, finely grated
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp maple syrup or honey
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 60–120 ml cold water
• black pepper

For a savoury depth closer to a traditional Caesar, add 2 mashed anchovy fillets or, to keep it vegan, 1 tsp white miso. Miso is the better vegan substitute than nutritional yeast — it brings fermented salt-savour rather than just cheesy notes.

Stir the tahini jar thoroughly before measuring. Tahini separates hard, and a spoonful from the top is oil while a spoonful from the bottom is solid paste. Either one throws the whole dressing off.

Method

1. 1. Whisk the tahini, lemon juice, garlic, mustard, syrup and salt together. It will thicken and look wrong. Keep going.
2. 2. Add cold water one tablespoon at a time, whisking after each, until it loosens into a pourable cream.
3. 3. Season with black pepper, and taste. It should be sharp — the leaves will soften it.

Getting the consistency

Cold water, not warm. Warm water makes tahini seize harder.

Thinner than you think. It thickens in the fridge and it needs to coat leaves, not sit on them.

More lemon than feels right. Tahini is heavy and bitter; without enough acid the dressing tastes flat and claggy.

Using it

Romaine and kale both work — this dressing is heavy enough to stand up to kale in a way a classic Caesar is not. It is also good as a dip for raw vegetables, and spooned over roasted cauliflower or sweet potato.

Cava serve it in bowls with grains and greens rather than as a leaf salad, which suits it: it is substantial enough to be the sauce for a whole bowl.

Storing

Five days in the fridge in a sealed jar. It thickens considerably when cold — let it sit out for ten minutes and whisk in a splash of water.

It does not freeze. Tahini separates and does not come back.