What Food Means To Me – Dukkah Recipe
Food, sharing a meal, cooking a feast for friends…
It has always been about creating community, relationships, experiences, and memories. It is such a fundamental part of our social lives, that it forces us to compromise our own physical health. All of us have at some point struggled to find the right balance between food and its impact on our wellbeing.
Food should overwhelm the senses, it should inspire, and it should form connections between people. Most importantly it should make you feel nourished, and no matter where you are in the world, it should be able to do all this in an ethically responsible manner. Food needs to be good for the mind, body, soul, and planet.
For me, whether it’s fine-dining or home-cooking, food always needs to be visually appealing; this is probably the artist in me. You eat first with your eyes, and I’m not just talking about making your followers jealous on Instagram. Food is another form of artistic expression, and this will always be a heavy influencer on the kind of cooking you will find here.
Finally, despite winning just about every CWA cake competition through out high school, I have never been much of a sweet tooth. Pastry is exciting for all my artistic sensibilities, but in the end I will always order and create a dish or experience all about the umami.
An easy way to boost the savoury notes and avoid additional sugars is the use of herbs and spices. I always have a jar of dukkah on hand, which makes the simplest combination of vegetables etc super tasty and a little interesting. Here’s one of my recipes for the one I make most often. Sprinkle over just about anything, including your breakie smashed avo – yum!
Dukkah #1 Ingredients
- 10g Turmeric, Ground
- 10g Lemon Myrtle, Ground
- 10g Coriander, Ground
- 10g Garlic, Ground
- 10g Ginger, Ground
- 50g Fennel Seeds
- 50g Cumin Seeds
- 50g Coriander Seeds
- 100g Pumpkin Seeds
- 100g Sunflower Seeds
- 100g Flaxseeds
- 100g Sesame Seeds
- 100g Slivered Almonds
- 100g Macadamias
- 100g Pistachios
- 100g Hazelnut Meal
- 10g Salt, Finely Ground
Method
- Dry toast over a low heat in a large, heavy based fry pan until fragrant, or approx. 20 minutes.
- Allow cooling.
- Blitz to a fine or medium crumb, be careful not to over blitz and form a paste.
- Place in airtight jars to use as you please.
Substitute Ingredients
Leave out any nut, seed or herb you’re not a personal fan of and just increase the ones you do like.
Substitute Equipment
Use a mortar and pestle if you don’t have a food processor, or even a rolling pin if you’re really desperate!
Waste Tips
Hopefully there is zero waste from this, but if you don’t think you’re going to use all of your dukkah before it goes stale, why not consider creating a poultry stuffing using it as the base. Or including it in your bread dough for a bit of variety, then freeze your individual slices!
Diet and Lifestyle Notes
- Grain Free
- Gluten Free
- Refined Sugar Free
- Sugar Free - Low Fructose
- Dairy Free
- Paleo Friendly
- Ketogenic Friendly
- BulletProof Friendly – if you utilise all mould free ingredients and leave out garlic
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Pescatarian
Author
Elena Duggan
Winner of MasterChef 2016, Elena Duggan takes us back to her golden moment ahead of her return to the show as a guest chef in Season 9.
