Sesame Herb Seeds

Are you open to sesame? We love sesame—the sublimely nutty flavor, the fragrance—every which way. Added just before serving, sprinkling of lightly (and carefully) roasted sesame seeds lends aromatic, flavorful nuance to sweet and savory dishes. In Japan, sesame seeds are used to complement traditional vegetarian dishes and are a favorite flavoring for tofu. In China, sesame oil extracted from the seeds is prized for fried dishes. Sesame seeds add nutty kick in salad dressings; seeds, made into a paste, are what tahini is all about. Attractive 3-4 upright annual herb, garlanded with opposing broad lancelike leaves, produces a radiant show of tubular yellow (or sometimes white, blue or purple) flowers. Once pods have ripened on the plant, around mid-September, they split open naturally, releasing multitudinous pear-shaped seeds for extremely easy harvest. Grown since 3,500 B.C., perhaps the earliest cultivated oilseed, this “survivor crop” is able to grow where nothing else will—even at the desert’s edge.