If you’ve ever eaten a falafel sandwich tucked into a warm pita bread pocket and topped with chopped vegetables, you have probably eaten tahini sauce. This creamy, versatile condiment is made from tahini paste (ground sesame seeds), lemon juice, garlic and water—with a pinch of salt added. It’s drizzled over the falafel just before serving.

Speaking of sesame seeds, have you ever tasted the Middle Eastern confection halvah? It’s not easy to describe the taste or texture of this treat, derived from the Arabic word halwa, meaning “sweet.” Halvah has its origins in the Ottoman and Persian empires, and is enjoyed in regions such as Turkey, Greece and Israel. 

Halvah typically consists of tahini, sugar or honey, and occasionally nuts, and can be flavored with spices and other ingredients, in particular chocolate. It often comes in blocks and can be easily cut into bite-sized pieces. It is rich and dense, with a slightly flaky, melt-in-your-mouth texture. I love it marbled, which means the chocolate has been worked into the halvah, or the halvah dipped in dark chocolate, making it even richer. 

I have found halvah at the ShopRite in Monticello, NY, sold near the shelves of smoked salmon and pickled herring by the cheese department. If you happen to be in Manhattan, check out Seed + Mill in the Chelsea Market (409 West 15th St.). They sell halvah in various flavors, such as toasted sesame, sea salt and dark chocolate, pistachio and toasted coconut dark chocolate, among other flavors, and they also sell glass containers of creamy tahini. They use sesame seeds from Ethiopia. 

Sesame seeds are believed to have originated in Southeast Asia, specifically in the islands of Indonesia. From there, they spread to Asia as well as parts of Africa, including Egypt. Currently, Myanmar is the leading sesame seed producer in the world. India, China, Sudan and Tanzania are also huge producers of the seed. 

Sesame seeds are one of the most popular seeds in the world. They are loaded with health-promoting nutrients and are also packed with flavor and crunchiness that makes them useful in many cuisines. Recently, I made a Japanese meal in which the entrée as well as the two side dishes were garnished with sesame seeds. I always have both toasted white sesame seeds and black sesame seeds in my larder. The black sesame seeds are known for their rich, nutty flavor and have more nutritional value due to the fact that they retain their outer hull, unlike white sesame seeds. 

You can buy white sesame seeds and toast them yourself in a dry nonstick skillet, but toasted sesame seeds are easy to find and the toasted variety are both more flavorful and crunchier.

I was lucky to find dry (aka diver) sea scallops for my main course. You only want to use this type of scallop as opposed to the usual ones you find in supermarkets, which are soaked in an artificial preservative to make them look glossier and plumper. The latter scallops retain water, and you cannot get a sufficient sear on them, plus they lack flavor. Dry scallops have a much superior flavor, texture and searing ability. Though expensive, dry scallops are quite rich in flavor and a portion of five per person is sufficient. 

Sunomono is a popular technique that applies to any vegetable or seafood salad that is dressed with vinegar. Alongside the scallops, I made one with thinly sliced cucumbers, garnished with finely julienned carrots, a bright, slightly pickled accompaniment, and a gingery, pungent, cold broccoli salad that provided texture and crunch. Both the salads were garnished with sesame seeds—one black and the other toasted white. We ate this Japanese meal at a round picnic table on our front porch. For a special treat, I poured cold sake into tiny glass cups, as is the tradition.