Dukkah
Dukkah is miraculous. It’s an Egyptian condiment - a nut sprinkle-come-spice blend - which is fantastic with bread and olive oil, and a winning addition to so so many dishes adding both texture and flavour. We never let the stash run dry, and once you’re on the bandwagon you won’t either. There’s nothing it doesn’t take to the next level of deliciousness… Why not try sprinkling a batch of homemade dukkah over the following flavoursome dishes
Our BBQ’d panzanella with charred leeks, spring onions & feta
These Middle Eastern inspired burschetta we rustled up in celebration of British Tomato fortnight
Our Pride-tastic Rainbow roasted roots on toast - possibly our favourite toast topper of all time…
Or on a nourishing bowl of chickpeas and wilted greens with preserved lime, green chilli & yogurt.
It’s also fabulous sprinkled on eggs cooked any way, scattered over a huge variety of salads, on top of slow-cooked tagines, and spooned on the soft flesh of roasted aubergine. It’s fantastically versatile, so don’t be too selective as to what you sprinkle it on!
Flavour hacks.
We lovingly call it our key “flavour hack” - it’s one of our go-to ingredients which adds texture and flavour in a flash. It’s a final flourish which can make something as simple and humble as a baked sweet potato drizzled with olive oil utterly divine and exiting.
Dukkah is brilliant to have on constant standby. Once it’s got under your skin you won’t want to be without it; we tend to bulk buy nuts and seeds a few times a year and whip up a monster batch for the months ahead. It makes for a wonderful edible gift too.
This recipe makes 1 medium Tupperware/Kilner Jar, which will last for up to 3 months.
Ingredients:
200g blanched hazlenuts (1 1/3 cup)
50g sunflower seeds (1/3 cup)
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
50g sesame seeds (1/3 cup)
1 teaspoon chilli flakes
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon flakey sea salt
Method:
Preheat your oven to 150 degrees.
While the oven is preheating you have time to dry-toast the spices; this helps round out that ‘raw spice’ note and unlock the very best of their gorgeous flavours. Simply scatter the coriander and cumin seeds in a dry pan and toast on a medium heat for 2-4 minutes until you can smell their aromas being released. Tip from the pan immediately to prevent them burning and becoming bitter. Allow the spices to cool before grinding in a pestle and mortar.
Now dry-toast the sesame seeds in the same frying pan, just until they start to pop and turn golden. Once they’ve taken on some colour remove these from the heat and combine them with the salt, paprika, chilli flakes and ground spices.
By now the oven should be pre-heated. Roast the blanched hazelnuts for 12-14 minutes. Rich, golden brown hazelnuts are the backbone of a really good dukkah, they add depth, richness and complexity of flavour. It’s a fine line between really well roasted nuts and burnt nuts, but you’ve got this..! Add the sunflower seeds after 4 minutes minutes so that these toast for 8-10 minutes.
Allow the hazelnuts and sunflower seeds to cool. Start by blitzing the hazelnuts & sunflower seeds in a food processor, and after a few seconds add the spices, sea salt and sesame seeds. You can ‘pulse’ the mix rather than ‘blend’ to have more control over the final texture. Leave as much or as little texture as you wish.