I've been in Toronto for 4 months now and have become slightly fixated on the Fresh restaurants and their dishes. So extremely simple and healthy in their ingredients with an amazing taste. My favourite I order every time now is the powerhouse bowl. Recently, I've discovered that Fresh has cookbooks you can buy-- and I recently got my hands on one for just enough time to copy a few recipes down.
In my obsession with powerhouse, comes a curiosity-- with tahini. I actually have never cooked with it before, but ever since it was brought to my attention I notice it in every magazine, blog and book I come across. It's like a magical, mysterious, intriguing ingredient that has been following me around begging me to make something with it. Turns out the powerhouse's sauce (which is what makes it so amazing in my opinion) is a mixture of tahini + their house hot sauce, and a few other additions. So, in my attempt at powerhouse, the first step was the hot sauce.
Because I skim details occasionally and fail to take them into account, this recipe is not the exact same as Fresh's-- I omitted a couple things, added in others and substituted for things I didn't have at the time. But it tastes extraordinarily similar, and while it looks a little different from your typical hot sauces, it is guaranteed to please.
Ingredients
+ 4 habanero peppers
+ 1/2 red onion, chopped
+ 2 cloves of garlic
1 inch fresh ginger
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/4 cup soya sauce
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3-4 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup dijon mustard
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp crushed chillies
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cumin
Directions
+ Puree peppers, onion, garlic, ginger, thyme and rosemary in a food processor or blender (add a bit of water if not blending well)
+ Pour puree into a saucepan and add the soya sauce. Cook over low heat for about 5 minutes.
+ Add balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, mustard and all spices-- simmer for 30 minutes.
+ Remove from heat and cool.
TIP: mix a few tablespoons of this sauce with tahini, lemon juice and chopped parsley to create the best, make-shift version of Fresh's spicy tahini sauce-- add to rice or noodles with various beans/tofu/chickpeas/lentils and fresh vegetables.
