Dukkah

Dukkah is an Egyptian condiment traditionally made from hazelnuts, sesame seeds and spices. The best way to serve it is to dip freshly baked bread into olive oil and then the dukkah mix but you can sprinkle it on a lot of different dishes giving them a rich, crunchy and spicy edge. This is my version…

Method

The first thing to do is to remove the skins from the hazelnuts, I have found the following the best way to do this:

Lay out the hazelnuts on a baking tray and put in a preheated oven at 180°C. Bake for about 15 minutes until the skins start to blister and blacken. Take out of the oven and wrap the hazelnuts in a clean dishcloth and leave to steam for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes roll the hazelnuts in the dishcloth to loosen the skins. Open out the dishcloth and the skins should be coming away from the hazelnuts, you can continue rolling them in the dishcloth or use your fingers to rub away the rest of the skins. Don’t worry too much if you can’t get every bit of the skins off. Set aside a leave to cool.

Put a heavy base frying pan or a wok on the hob on a medium heat and add the cashews, dry fry them until they start to brown and then add the cumin, fennel, coriander, sesame seeds, chilli flakes and dry fry for another few minutes until the spices become fragrant (this is the posh term for when you can smell the spices). Take off the heat and leave to cool a little.

Add the hazelnuts and the cashew-sesame seed-spice mix into a food processor along with the mint and a little of the salt. Pulse until you have a course mixture. Check for seasoning and add more of the salt if required. If you don’t have a food processor the same consistency can be achieved by putting the ingredients in a freezer bad and bashing with a rolling pin.

To serve place the dukkah in a bowl and dip some quality bread into some olive oil and then the dukkah mix. this dish is perfect as a pre-starter for a dinner party or a precursor to a barbecue.