I recently contributed this dukkah recipe to Food 52’s Small Batch series. When they first suggested it, I had to look up how to (authentically) make it. It turns out — there’s no one way. The word dukkah literally means “to pound” and it generally consists of hazelnuts, sesame seeds and a few whole dried spices. To me, this was the perfect opportunity to use up the nuts and spices I had just cleaned out of my pantry shelves. (Specifically, the ones that didn’t fit when I transferred them from little bags to little jars).
Along with the hazelnuts I had been hoarding, I toasted and crushed: pistachios, sesame seeds, coriander, dried orange peel and dried cilantro, and dried peppercorns. (Feel free to change up this combination using ingredients you happen to have).
It’s a great little spice mix to keep on hand (it’ll keep for awhile!). I sprinkled it over greek yogurt and served it with pita chips. It’s a super delicious snack, not to mention a great make-ahead throw-together appetizer.
- ¼ cup hazelnuts
- ¼ cup pistachios
- 1 tablespoon whole dried coriander
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon dried peppercorns
- ½ teaspoon dried orange peel
- ½ teaspoon dried cilantro
- ½ teaspoon salt
- greek yogurt
- olive oil
- squeeze of lemon
- pinches of salt
- Using a small, dry skillet over low heat, toast the hazelnuts for a few minutes, until fragrant. Next, add the pistachios and the coriander and toast for a few minutes more. Next add the sesame seeds, peppercorns, and orange peel. Toast those for one minute more, then remove the skillet from the heat, mix in the dried cilantro, and add a few pinches of salt.
- Let the mixture cool, then crush it in a mortar and pestle or pulse it in a food processor. Instead of letting the mixture turn into a paste, stop mixing when it’s still a dry crumble.
- Mix greek yogurt with salt and a bit of lemon juice. Sprinkle dukkah on top along with a drizzle of olive oil. Serve with toasted pita or pita chips.
Store in an airtight container at room temp for at least a month.
Gluten free: sub gf corn tortilla chips
Vegan: sub vegan yogurt, or skip yogurt and serve with olive oil and bread
I flipping love dukkah. This recipe looks so yummy!!
I love Dukah. I never thought of mixing it with yoghurt, but that sounds awesome! I’ll try it! Thanks for the inspiration. 🙂
I’ve been “behind the scenes” following your blog for quite awhile now but based on the number of bookmarked recipes, etc., I am officially convinced that I LOVE LOVE LOVE it all. Seriously, one of my top 3 favorite food blogs – the photos are always beautiful and the recipes are very easy to follow. Now, I’m totally adding this one to my to-do list – thanks;)
Wow, absolutely beautiful! Yogurt is all the rage lately, it seems. I definitely do not get enough use out of my mortar and pestle, so I’m looking forward to checking this out!
I love dukkah! I just found out about this spice and it’s wonderful! I love the chunkiness of it! The one I have, has almonds in it – delicious! Definitely want to try with pistachios! What a pretty green color!
I love Dukkah. I take the short cut and purchase the premade one at Trader Joes. My favorite way to use it is to sprinkle it over a toast with avocado.I love this for breakfast.
So far, my only dukkah experience has been with the Trader Joe’s version, which I love! Yours looks a million times more flavorful. Can’t wait to try it. P.s. congrats x1000 on the Saveur win! I was so happy to see your name at the top of the list. You deserve it.
I haven’t heard of this before. It sounds amazingly flavorful.
I love dukkah and this recipe sounds fantastic!
Mmm. This looks so good.
This sounds so good! Beautiful photos!
This looks so yummy and exotic yet uses such simple pantry ingredients, pinning!
Oh my, that looks lovely – but where on earth did you get the dried orange peel? I’m gonna have to go looking here in London, I bet that added some wonderful flavour…..
It came as a spice set from the J.R Watkins company (pictured in this post: http://www.loveandlemons.com/2013/05/08/spiced-carrot-chickpea-salad/)
I’m thinking fancy spice stores or Whole Foods might have it in their bulk section? If you can’t find it, you can just skip it or maybe even add some fresh zest at the end.
I accidently double bought yoghurt this week, and I have a load of half empty bags of nuts and spices lying around. This couldn’t have been timed better!
i have a little jar of dukkah from trader joe’s sitting in my spice cabinet and every time i look at it, i’m like, well what am i supposed to do with you.
THIS IS WHAT!
Oh man, it looks so yummy. Beautiful presentation. Hearing this for the first time. The photo tempts me and I will try it asap.
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We just started carrying dukkah…will have to try this!
This looks so yummy and exotic yet uses such simple pantry ingredients, pinning
I can’t wait to try this!! Looks divine!
I can’t wait to try this!!
I’m a big fan of yogurt dips… and the secret I’ve found is all about the yogurt. If you go with a sheep double strained Greek variety you’re in the clear. You want it to be thick (almost like a cream cheese) and without an over powering flavor of tart so it can take on the full flavor of your concoction!
If you live in LA, I swear by Aris brand… and they’re lactose free!
I made this a few days ago , served the Dukkah with Vanilla Bean Greek Yoghurt , had visitors and we all loved it including my fussy husband.
Thank you for posting.