Confession time.
I love nuts almost as much as a terrible pun.
Delicious, earthy flavours. Great pre-workout snack. Technically a fruit. What's not to love?!
If, like me, you have a perchant for these nutritious nibbles, there is a fair chance you will also be head over heels for its entree offspring: Dukkah
Not familiar with it? Essentially dukkah is a mix of ground nuts and spices which can be served with bread, balsamic vinegar and olive oil as part of a dipping platter. Dunking the bread in the oils first and then the dukkah means the nut mix sticks to the bread and provides you additional flavours and crunch with every mouthful. Yum!
Or you can buck convention like my Nanna and use the mix as a crusting for roast meats or simply sprinkled over roasted vegetables. Each to their own!
Everybody seems to have their own version of dukkah, with the type of nuts and spices used varying across rationality and depending on availability. This recipe happens to be one that I have used over the last couple of years and I could still eat it by the bucket load!
Give it a shot and you won't regret it!
Unless your allergic to nuts...
Then there may be a mild dissatisfaction accompanied by anaphylactic shock...
Basic Spicy Dukkah
3 cups hazelnuts
2 cups sesame seeds
5 tbsp coriander seeds
5 tbsp cumin seeds
4 tsp ground black pepper
3 tsp sea salt flakes
Preheat oven to 180 degrees (C) and spread the hazelnuts evenly over a baking tray. Bake in the hot oven for 5-6 minutes or until lightly roasted (you should be able to smell them when they're ready!)
Remove the nuts from the oven and allow to cool slightly before placing in a tea towel and rubbing the nuts to remove their skins. Set the nuts aside and throw away the skins.
Place the sesame, cumin and coriander seeds in a fry pan along with the black pepper and cook over a low heat for 2-3 minutes or until lightly toasted and aromatic.
Combine the nuts, seed mix and salt in a food processor and blitz until it reaches the desired texture. I like to keep a couple of chunkier nut pieces in mine but you don't want them so big they won't stick to your dipping bread!
You could kick it old school and use a mortar and pestle for this step but in all honesty I am generally too lazy for such shenanigans...
And that's all there is to it!
Bottle your mixture up and give it to friends and family to earn their undying admiration or whip it out the next time your having some nibbles and wine... or sneak into the cupboard and eat a few spoons of it by itself....
No judgement!
And just for the heck of it, since we are talking about nuts, have a squirrel to brighten up your day!
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