(Dukkah without nuts)

I’ve been thinking about parties and party foods this week as it’s the first anniversary of our The Alternative Kitchen: A beginners guide to cooking without dairy, soy, gluten, egg or meat book launch party.  It’s been a pretty amazing year since that book was launched, and it’s nice to hear that that book and our show is helping to open up options for people who usually get left out at festive feasts.

So because I was thinking about parties and anniversaries when it came to writing a recipe to share this week I found myself thinking about  dukkah. You see, the  first time I ever opened a jar of dukkah and deeply breathed in the cumin I knew I was in love.  My hubby and I were on our honeymoon and he’d surprised me with a jar or it, some good olive oil and some soft bread and said ” I thought we could give this a go, there’s no dairy in it.”

Over the years we’ve tried many different brands and eaten it on many different occasions, but because of the powerful connection between smell and memories I can’t help but think of our honeymoon every time I open a jar. So for me dukkah = anniversaries and happy memories.

But because dukkah is a blend of nuts and seeds with some spices, people who can’t eat nuts tend to get left out. So I started playing around in the kitchen and came up with 2 recipes: one with nuts and one without nuts.

It’s easy to make and if you dip some freshly baked gluten-free bread, it’s a gluten-free treat too.

Delicious Dukkah without nuts

Ingredients

2/3 cup plain activated buckinis*
1/3 cup pepitas
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
1/3 cup sesame seeds
3/4 tsp salt (whichever suits your diet)
1 Tbsp ground corriander seeds
1 1/2 Tbsp ground cumin

(Dukkah with nuts)

Delicious Dukkah with nuts

Ingredients
1 1/2 Tbsp ground cumin
1 1/2 Tbsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp salt of your choice
1/3 cup sesame seeds
1/3 cup raw almonds
2/3 cup raw hazelnuts

Method

1. Place all ingredients  which are suitable for your diet in a food processor (except half of the sesame seeds)and blend for 10-15 seconds (until the nuts are ground to a rough powder).
2. Add the remaining sesame seeds and process for 2-3 seconds (or use a pulse option if you have one).
3. Serve with olive oil and bread suitable for your diet.

What are activated buckinis?
Activated buckinis are basically buckinis (buckwheat groats) which have been soaked and then dehydrated to become “crispy” again. The main reason for soaking (grains, seeds, nuts and legumes) is  to help make the minerals within more available for your body. From a cooking perspective, I find the activated buckinis I buy tend to be more crisp than the plain buckwheat groats (which are dried but unactivated). You can buy buckinis already activated (or you can do it yourself by buying buckwheat groats, soaking and dehydrating if you have a dehydrator – obviously if you’re buying them plain or activated, check all labels to make sure they’re suitable for your particular dietary needs first!).

This is a pretty quick, simple and delicious snack to have on hand, you can make it up in bulk and bring it out as you need it.

This recipe and other snack and party food recipes are available in our book: The Little Book of Allergy-Friendly Snack & Party Foods.