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almond, sesame, cumin, smoked paprika, and fennel dukka






Yep more almonds, but for something savoury today. I love dukka, and I wander why I don't make it more often, but as I still have lots of almonds no excuse! My base recipe is in my book Savour, yet the beauty with dukka is that it can be personalized each time, and it is always good. For this one I toasted 100 g of almonds (not blanched) in the oven for 10 minutes, then I added one tbsp of sesame seed, one tsp of cumin seeds and half tsp of fennel seeds and put everything back into the oven for 4-5 more minutes.



All in the food processor, and then grind until fine but still a little chunky.


At the end I added some smoked paprika and some salt. Dukka can be used as a rub, a topping (great on hummus) and as a dip. And it can be made with a variety of nuts, seeds and spices.
The best way to eat it, for me, is to use it with bread: dip some bread in extra virgin olive oil first...




And then in the dukka!. Quite addictive, and the perfect party food. It lasts a few days in a sealed tin container.


Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©




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Comments

  1. Sanjeev SharmaDecember 27, 2010 at 6:48 AM

    This seems like a good a recipe – and I am quite partial to almonds and cashews. The New Year is round the corner and I guess I’ll have it tried on the New Year eve party! Will keep you posted on the results and feedback from others.

    I am a Vegetarian By Choice, like many others on this beautiful planet. However, my reasons for being vegetarian have nothing to do with religion or compassion for animals. Well, I love animals but that I do not think is good enough reason to be a vegetarian. I love plants equally well and if love for animals would make me shun meat, then love for plants should make me shun veggies. And then what would I eat?

    I think we vegetarian have to adopt another approach to get meat eaters give up meat - and that approach is environment. One must be a vegetarian for environmental reasons. Human beings were not designed to eat meat. And in their quest to eat meat, they are screwing up the environment and we will one day end up as fossils just as the great dinosaurs did more than 100 million years ago

    ReplyDelete
  2. Flavia GalassoDecember 27, 2010 at 11:39 AM

    MMMmhhhhhhhhh...mi ispira tanto...baci, Flavia

    ReplyDelete
  3. AlessandraDecember 27, 2010 at 3:00 PM

    Ciao Sanjeev,

    thank you for your comment, you made a good case for vegetarianism, and I agree with your views. At the same time I think that there are many reasons for which many different people are vegetarian, and each one should be respected. Maybe it could be religion, or tradition, or health, or philosophical, or scientific, or ethical, or due to economics... or simply a matter of taste!

    The list is endless.

    I will have a good look at your site now, and wish you a Happy New Year.

    ciao
    Alessandra

    ReplyDelete

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