Macadamia Dukkah From a Packet of Roasted Nuts

Method

1. Tip the sesame seeds into a dry frying pan over medium heat and shake it every 20 seconds or so, for 2 to 3 minutes, until they smell nutty and a few start to jump. Tip them onto a cold plate.
2. Toast the coriander, cumin and fennel seeds and the peppercorns in the same dry pan for about a minute, until the cumin darkens a shade and the kitchen smells of it, then add them to the plate.
3. Leave the spices for 5 minutes to cool, because warm seeds grind to a paste rather than a grit.
4. Grind the spices coarsely in a mortar and pestle, or in short pulses in a spice grinder. Stop while it still looks like cracked pepper.
5. Leave the macadamias out of the pan entirely. They were roasted before they were packed, and a second toasting is the step that turns them bitter.
6. Seal the macadamias in a bag and press down with the flat base of a heavy pan, rocking rather than hammering, until the biggest pieces are the size of a grain of rice.
7. Stir the nuts, sesame seeds and ground spice together, adding the Aleppo flakes now if you want warmth behind it.
8. Taste. Salted nuts usually carry the blend on their own, so reach for the extra salt only if you started with unsalted macadamias.
9. Spread the dukkah on a plate and leave it until completely cold before it goes into a jar. Warm dukkah sweats in glass and the crunch is gone by morning.

How to store it, and how long it is good for

A sealed jar in a cool, dark cupboard is right for three to four weeks, and the fridge holds the edge for longer, which suits a double batch made in November. Nothing about a stale jar is unsafe, it simply goes quiet: the spice fades first, then the nut oil turns flat. Warmth and daylight get it there, so the shelf above the oven is the one place it should not live. A small jar with the date on the label also makes a good gift in the week when nobody wants to bake.

Five things to put it on

• Bread and oil, the way it is meant to be eaten. Warm the pita, tear it, dip in oil, then press into the dukkah.
• A soft boiled egg, halved, with the yolk still loose enough to hold the crumb.
• Roast pumpkin or carrots, scattered over in the last minute so the spice does not scorch.
• Thick yoghurt or labneh under a slick of olive oil, which is the fastest thing you can put on a table.
• A cheese board, in a small dish beside something soft, which is how it earns a spot on the Christmas grazing table.

Questions we get asked

What is dukkah made of?

Nuts, seeds and whole spices, toasted dry and crushed coarse. The Egyptian version is built on hazelnuts and sesame with coriander and cumin, salt and pepper, and every household past that point has its own additions. There is no fixed formula, only a texture to aim at: dry, loose and gritty, so it picks up on oiled bread instead of clumping.

Can you make dukkah with macadamias instead of hazelnuts?

Yes, and on an Australian table it makes more sense. A hazelnut is drier and more brittle, so it shatters into rubble, while a macadamia crushes into gravel that clings to the oil. The trade off is how quickly macadamias burn, which is why this recipe starts from a pouch already roasted. Almonds and pistachios work too: almond dukkah comes out drier and more powdery, pistachio dukkah greener and less rich.

How long does homemade dukkah keep?

Three to four weeks in a sealed jar in a cool cupboard, and longer in the fridge. The limit is the oil in the nuts and the sesame rather than anything to do with safety. Grinding the spice coarse helps, since a fine powder gives up its aroma within days.

What do you eat dukkah with?

Bread and good olive oil first, because that is the dish it was invented as. After that it is a finishing seasoning: eggs, yoghurt, roast vegetables, grilled lamb, hummus and avocado on toast. Add it at the end rather than during cooking, since heat is what flattens it.

Two 75g pouches make the jar, and the rest of the range sits on the Nutworks page, filed with the crackers and chips in snacking. Orders placed before 12pm on a weekday are dispatched the same day from our Corio, VIC warehouse, tracked with Australia Post, and shipping is free Australia-wide over $100. If the jar is going to someone else, the Christmas hampers shelf covers the rest of the parcel.