IMBB # 16: Eggs! Hard boiled eggs with Dukkah
It's funny how I think that when I finally have a vacation, I'll post ALL the time - when reality is, I post a lot less! There are just so many things to do, sun to enjoy and friends to see - you know how it is! But - today is IMBB # 16, and seeing I missed the last jellied IMBB due to lack of time, I thought no way I'm gonna miss this one! Hosted by the Seattle Bon Vivant Viv, the theme is EGGS! But you already knew that, didn't ya?;-)
We always have eggs in the fridge. I love eggs - scrambled, boil, in a frittatta - yolks used alone in a curd or custard, whites alone in meringue - added to breads, in tarts - I use eggs a lot. This time though, I've chosen a slightly deviant way of using eggs. It is the star of the "dish", only it's actually just - a boiled egg. A boiled egg served with a spice mix that accents the taste and texture of the egg itself. Hey, Viv said it could be as simple (or as spectacular) as you wanted it to be!
Dukkah is a spice mix, traditionally made with cumin, coriander, sesame seeds, salt, pepper - maybe hazelnuts or chickpeas. I first encountered it in one of Melissa's favorite books, Crazy Water, Pickled Lemons and had to try it. I bought the book because I wanted to do a Middle Eastern inspired birthday party dinner, and I served the dukkah with hard boiled quail's eggs, cucumber sticks and pitta bread with dipping oil as an appetizer. I loved it immediately. No quails egg around today, but it's equally good with hard boiled hens' eggs!
My mixture is made with
2 tablespoons hazelnuts, lightly toasted and cooled
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, lightly toasted and cooled
1 teaspoon cumin, lightly toasted and cooled
2 teaspoons salt
I whizz hazelnuts, sesame seeds and cumin in the food processor, then mix that with the salt. Serve in small dipping bowls with boiled eggs - and maybe another small bowl of good olive oil and some bread, for dipping in first the oil, then the dukkah.
I've already seen a couple of contributions for this IMBB and I'm EGG-STATIC!! (okay, so I had to work in here somewhere, didn't I?:-)) You people are amazingly inventive!
Comments
I'm always looking for things to take with me for lunch at work. It is so easy to get into the same old salads. Well now I can try hard boiled eggs and dukka and some vegetables...Yummy!
But 'deviate' as in 'to deviate from' seems to be fine! Weird.
Melissa - sorry! Heh NOT! I love it too, the writing is just fabulous. The dukkah was "hidden" in one of her introductions (you know, the first couple of pages for each chapter) - reading it, I could almost taste it, and just had to try it... I'll have to give some more of her recipes a go soon...
Ana - I saw a site where they mixed the spices with honey and used it on bread. I was thinking maybe more like a condiment on cream cheese or something, but the more I think about it, the more the honey combo intrigues me...
I love finding out about new things like this. And just when I've been thinking our culinary world has never been so small...
I noticed your version doesn't have pepper or cumin seed. You might try a little of each in your next batch.