Recipe: Dukkah

the appetizer:

The Oldways Table by K. Dun Gifford and Sara Baer-Sinnott celebrates traditional foods from around the world, including recipes like Paximadia (Greece), Dukkah (Egypt), and Oven-Roasted Rabbit with Lemons and Olives (Crete).

Dukkah

by Claudia Roden

Makes almost 4 cups

Dukkah is a crumbly mixture of nuts, herbs, and seeds. Although its origin is Egyptian, we first encountered it in South Australia, at a riotous lunch hosted at St. Hallets winery. It was laid out in a dish in the middle of the table, and our Australian hosts instructed us to dip our bread into olive oil (also in a small dish on the table), and then into the dukkah. We've since served it at Oldways conferences and have given gifts of dukkah to our friends. You can use it as a dip, in cooking fish or chicken, or on salads or pasta dishes. The recipe we like best is from the renowned Mediterranean cookbook author Claudia Roden.

1 cup sesame seeds
1-3/4 cups coriander seeds
2/3 cup blanched hazelnuts, skinned
1/2 cup cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Put each variety of seeds and nuts on a separate tray or a shallow oven dish and roast them all for 10 to 20 minutes, until they just begin to color and give off a slight aroma. As they take different times, you must keep an eye on them so that they do not become too brown, and take out each as it is ready. Alternatively, toast them in a large dry frying pan, stirring constantly.

Put the nuts and seeds together in the food processor with salt and pepper and grind them until they are finely crushed bur not pulverized. Be careful not to over-blend, or the oil from the too-finely-ground seeds and nuts will form a paste. Dukkah should be a crushed dry mixture, not a paste. Taste and add salt if needed.