Dukkah (Egyptian Toasted Nut and Seed Blend)

Ingredients

• 120 g hazelnuts
• 60 g almonds
• 4 tbsp sesame seeds
• 2 tbsp ground coriander
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp chilli flakes
• 1 tsp salt
• 6 tbsp olive oil, to serve
• 4 pita bread, warmed and torn to serve

Method

1. 1.

   Toast and skin the nuts — Toast the hazelnuts and almonds in a dry frying pan over medium heat for 7-8 minutes, shaking often, until the skins darken and split and the kitchen smells strongly of nuts. Tip them into a tea towel, wrap up and rub hard to slough off the hazelnut skins.

2. 2.

   Toast the sesame seeds — Put the pan back on the heat and toast the sesame seeds for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly, until they start to pop and turn straw gold. Tip them straight onto a cold plate so they stop cooking.

3. 3.

   Toast the whole spices — Toast the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds and peppercorns together for 60-90 seconds, until they smell warm and have gone one shade darker. Pull the pan off at the first hint of smoke — scorched spices will make the whole batch bitter.

4. 4.

   Cool everything completely — Let everything cool completely, about 10 minutes. This is not optional: warm nuts release their oil under the pestle and turn to paste instead of crumb.

5. 5.

   Pound to a coarse crumb — Pound the nuts in a mortar to a coarse gravel, then grind the toasted spices and add them. Stir through the sesame seeds, salt and chilli flakes. Short pulses in a processor work too, but stop while the mixture still crunches — dukkah should never be a powder.

6. 6.

   Serve with oil and bread — Serve in a shallow bowl next to a saucer of olive oil, with warm torn flatbread for dipping first in the oil and then in the dukkah. It keeps in an airtight jar for a month.