Dukkah

Nuts and spices Egyptian style

My plans for the “Greek” blog have been thwarted once again. No sooner had I unpacked and started to settle back into life and a working internet, when the phone rang. On the other end, the realtor selling our house in Canada where we previously lived, telling us that a hot water tank had burst and flooded one end of the house. A quick call to the insurance company and we went spiralling downward into a series of problems, each one worse than the last. There was nothing for it. We repacked our suitcases with winter clothes and flew off to Vancouver before anything else could go wrong.

Yes, I know, its the price you pay etc. etc. and for the next two weeks we tried  to catch up on the long neglected maintenance that comes to absentee landlords.  Up at the crack of dawn every day (jet lag helped with that one) we cleaned, burned, fixed, vacuumed, raked, pruned, dumped, bleached and scrubbed away the six years of renters.

The days were busy but the evenings were spent in the company of our lovely friends who took us back in as though we had never left. On one such evening, my friend Joyce made this fantastic Egyptian snack that I had all but forgotten about – Dukkah. Sitting in her cosy log house, we dipped our chunks of bread in olive oil then savoured the fragrant spices of the Middle East.

Dukkah is one of those things that takes only minutes to prepare yet totally takes you by surprise.  The ingredients are standard but combine to make something special. Dukkah keeps well so you can make it in advance or just have it on hand for a quick snack.

Joyce made her Dukkah with pistachios but you can make it with almonds, cashews, peanuts or hazelnuts. I made mine with almonds and hazelnuts. This is the recipe we followed

Pistachio Dukkah (courtesy of Hugh Fearnley whattsits)

I cup/120 gr shelled unsalted pistachios (or other nuts, See above)

1 tbs cumin seeds

1 tbs coriander seeds

3 tbs sesame seeds

Some chopped mint leaves

1 tsp dried chilli flakes

1 tsp flaky sea salt

• Method
• Unless your nuts are already roasted, you will need to preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spread the nuts on a baking sheet and roast them for about 5 minutes. Cool and chop coarsely.
• Roast the spices in a small dry frying pan over medium heat. They will quickly begin to release their aroma. Tip them into a pestle and mortar and bash them till they break up. Lightly toast the sesame seeds (if they are not already)
• Add the nuts to the mortar and pestle and bash all together till it’s all crumbly and crunchy ( I did mine in batches). Add the sesame seeds, chilli and salt and chopped mint.
• 

Traditionally, you tear off a piece of flatbread, dip it in olive oil then into the dukkah. You can of course use other types of bread. Because it’s basically a nut/ spice mixture it lends itself to being eaten in lots of different ways – like with raw veggies or as a coating for fish, chicken, pork chops etc It would be great sprinkled on roasted vegetables such as cauliflower or potatoes. I’m definitely going to have to make another batch before I experiment further since right now I’m having trouble stopping myself eating it by the spoonful straight out of the bowl.

Give it a try. Serve it with drinks, add to a mezze, or take to a potluck. It’s well worth it. And let me know what you think in the comments box below.