Dukkah, Dry Dip

Hot Day Lunch

The excuse to get together was to take pictures of food. Food like the Egyptian dip called Dukkah.

It has all the flavor of a dip, concentrated so a bland thing like a chip or cracker compliments and carries it, but Dukkah is dry. No gooey skin to form while it sits out at the party, and it stores well as a leftover. It’s as easy as putting out chex mix only it tastes fresh and crunchy, and has a smell that’s the best part of a taco seasoning package.

Michele made the dip, some grilled asparagus (she’d picked it while running on a trail near her house in Boulder) and a hollandaise and a lemony mayonnaise to go with it. Beth took the photographs and I … did the talking.

Dukkah, Dry Dip

Adapted from Claudia Roden’s The New Book of Middle Eastern Food

1 cup sesame seeds
1 3/4 cups coriander seeds
2/3 cup blanched (skinned) hazelnuts
1/2 cup cumin seeds
1/2 tsp salt, or more to taste
1/4 tsp pepper (I like using Aleppo)

Put each nut/seed on a separate tray & roast them separately in a 325 degree oven till they begin to color & give off a slight aroma. Do not let them become too brown, you will need to watch carefully. Put them together in the food processor with the salt & pepper & grind until they are finely crushed but not pulverized. Be careful not to over blend or it will become a paste. You want more of a crushed, dry blend. Add more salt if needed.

Serve with pita bread cut in pieces and very good olive oil. Dip the pita in the oil, then dip into the Dukkah.