Dukkah

 

 

Blender Alert 

 

Before Marmite was invented, people were possibly more creative with their bread consumption!
 

Dukkah is a mix of nuts, seeds and spices, from Egypt, used in conjunction with olive oil to spice up the daily loaf. It’s also wonderful in salads or used as a seasoning/crusty coating with cooked vegetables, sprinkled over popcorn or anything else that grabs your imagination.  What follows is a simple and inexpensive take on dukkah - others add pistachios or other nuts and additional spices, but this recipe tastes very good as it is.
 

Makes about 3/4 cup

Ingredients
 
2 tbsp hazelnuts
2 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp black peppercorns 
1/4 tsp salt

 

Method:

• Toast the hazelnuts, sesame seeds, cumin, coriander and peppercorns until the skin starts to split and flake on the hazelnuts.
• Take the pan off the heat and let everything cool down.
• Add the salt and grind the mixture roughly.  You want to end up with a very coarse texture, nut much smaller than the sesame seeds.
• When the mixture is cooled, put it into a glass jar with a good lid.  It will keep for several weeks. 

To use dukkah, put about a teaspoon at a time into a small bowl and serve alongside a similar-sized bowl of the best olive oil you can afford (although decent supermarkets offerings are often acceptable).    Dip home-made, or good quality artisan bread in the oil and then the dukkah.
 
Be prepared to add more: it's addictive!
    

Notes:

• If you're mixing a greater quantity, it's worth toasting and grinding the hazelnuts first so that (a) they don't get caught under the blades and (b) the rest of the ingredients don't end up as a powder.
• If you're roasting everything in the little frying pan you use for spices, it may be worth roasting first the hazelnuts, then the coriander seeds and finally the cumin, sesame seeds and peppercorns.  Sesame seeds burn very easily and you don't want them to catch, while you're waiting for the nuts and coriander to be thoroughly browned.  Roasting the hazelnuts adds dramatically to their flavour, so it's worth taking care over. 

You will find many more recipes like this here and here