couscous with lazy dukkah
Serves 2
Prep time: 30 mins
Dukkah is a toasty, spicy Egyptian dip made with nuts and seeds. The traditional way to eat it is with fresh bread dipped first into olive oil and then into the dukkah. But you can sprinkle it on just about anything you can think of and it will be lovely.
The word ‘dukkha’ also happens to be the Buddhist term for worldly pain and suffering, but please try not to think about that as you eat this stuff. Pure coincidence, really. It is just a dip. Nothing to get depressed about.
This version is a quickie recipe for when you can’t be bothered toasting everything separately. Everything goes in the same pan and then into a food processor. Very fast and very, very tasty.
As it’s on the salty side it goes well with sweet flavours, so this couscous recipe has dried apricots in it, and is finished with a drizzle of orange juice. There is a lot of flavour on this plate. Very rewarding to make and takes not long at all.
This is actually quite a healthy recipe I have written for once.
Ingredients
For the dukkah:
Raw nuts, one cup (I used a mixture of pistachios, almonds and hazelnuts)
Coriander seeds, 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds, 1 tbsp
Sesame seeds, 3 tbsp
Dried chilli flakes, 1 tsp
Salt, 1 tsp
For the couscous:
Extra virgin olive oil, 1 tbsp, plus extra for drizzling
Garlic, one clove, finely chopped
Three spring onions, finely chopped
Broccoli, two cups, chopped into small florets
Wholewheat couscous, 3/4 cup
Hot vegetable stock, 1 cup
Dried apricots, 1/2 cup, chopped into small dice
Chickpeas, 1/2 a 400g can
1/2 an orange, juice only
Flat leaf parsley, one handful, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Start with the couscous. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a medium saucepan and gently fry the garlic and spring onions for about 2 minutes until fragrant. Then add in the couscous and give it a good stir so all the grains are coated in oil. Toast the couscous for 1 minute, then pour in the hot vegetable stock. Give it a stir, toss in the apricot pieces, cover the pan, and take it off the heat. Let it rest for 15 minutes.
While you wait, steam the broccoli until done to your liking, and make the dukkah. Start by heating up a heavyweight frying pan. Throw in the nuts and dry fry them gently, tossing frequently, for 5-7 minutes until starting to colour. Remove the nuts to a bowl and add the cumin and coriander seeds to the hot pan. Again toss frequently while they toast. After 2-3 minutes they should be nice and fragrant so pour them into your food processor. Put the pan back on the heat and add the sesame seeds. Dry fry them for a further 2-3 minutes, then take the pan off the heat.
Whizz up the spices in the food processor – they don’t need to be finely ground – then add in the nuts. Whizz everything together until the nuts are not-too-finely chopped. Transfer to a bowl, mix in the sesame seeds, chilli and salt, and that’s it.
When the couscous is ready fluff it up with a fork and carefully mix in the chickpeas, broccoli and chopped parsley. Add salt and pepper to taste. Finish each plateful with a drizzle of orange juice, a drizzle of olive oil and a generous pile of dukkah.
