Dukkah

Hazelnut dukkah

hazelnuts 75g
almonds 100g
coriander seeds 2 tbsp
cumin seeds 1 tbsp
sesame seeds 3 tbsp
black sesame seeds 3 tbsp
sea salt flakes 1 tsp
black pepper ½ tsp
dried thyme 1 tbsp 

Put the kettle on. Warm a dry, shallow pan over a low heat, then add the hazelnuts and let their skins darken, occasionally shaking the pan to prevent them from burning.

Put the almonds into a heatproof mixing bowl then pour over the boiling water from the kettle and leave to soak for 10 minutes. When the hazelnuts are deep brown in colour, remove from the heat and tip them into a clean tea towel. Rub the hazelnuts together in the tea towel until the skins flake off. Remove the nuts from the towel and return to the pan, toasting them to a deep, warm brown. Roughly chop them, leaving some of the pieces quite large.

Remove the almonds from the hot water with a draining spoon and pop them out of their skins. A quick squeeze between thumb and forefinger should do it. Put the almonds into the shallow pan and brown as evenly as you can, then tip on to a chopping board and roughly chop, or into a food processor and blitz.

In the shallow pan, toast the coriander and cumin seeds till dark and fragrant, taking great care not to burn them, then tip them into a mortar. Toast the sesame seeds for a couple of minutes, till the white ones turn golden. Crush the spices and seeds to a coarse powder with a pestle. (Use a mixing bowl and pound with a rolling pin if you have no pestle and mortar.) Add the nuts to the ground spices then stir in the salt, pepper and the dried thyme.

Essentially, bash the seeds and spices until you get a crunchy mix.

When cool, pack into a storage jar. It will keep for a couple of weeks.