Spicy Egyptian Dukkah With Chickpea Flour Recipes

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, whisk together dukkah, cornstarch (or flour), baking powder and salt. Whisk in sparkling water. Depending on the consistency of your dukkah, the batter may seem thin, but try deep-frying a few pieces of cauliflower first to see if you want to thicken it with a little more cornstarch or flour.
• Pour oil into a wok or wide saucepan to a depth of 3 inches and heat over medium-high heat to 360 to 375 degrees. Set up a sheet pan with a rack on it next to pan. Cover rack with a few layers of paper towels. Have a spider or deep fry skimmer handy for removing cauliflower from oil.
• Place a few pieces of cauliflower in batter and, using tongs, turn them over several times to coat thoroughly. Transfer to hot oil and fry until golden brown, which should not take more than a couple of minutes. Flip over with spider to make sure coating is evenly fried. It is important not to crowd pan and to let oil come back up to temperature between batches. After first batch you can decide if you want to add a little more flour to batter.
• Using the spider, remove cauliflower from oil, allowing excess oil to drip back into pan, and drain on the towel-covered rack. Sprinkle with salt right away if desired. Allow to cool slightly and serve.

Steps:

• Make the dukkah: Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Pour the hazelnuts onto a baking sheet, then slip into the oven and toast until golden brown and fragrant, about 12 minutes. Pour the nuts onto one half of a clean kitchen towel, then fold over the other half. Rub gently to remove the skins. Pour the nuts onto a cutting board, finely chop and set aside.
• Set a cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add the coriander seeds and toast, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the cumin seeds and sesame seeds and cook, stirring often, until fragrant and slightly darker in color but not burned, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir the seeds with the hazelnuts, then coarsely grind with a mortar and pestle. Set aside.
• Make the pie: Increase the oven temperature to 400˚ F. Set a large skillet over medium heat. Add the butter and cook until melted and browned just a little. Add the shallots and garlic; cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes.
• Rinse the spinach. Drain, but don't worry about getting all the water off. Add the spinach to the shallot-garlic mixture in batches, stirring, until all of the spinach is wilted, 7 to 8 minutes. Stir in the dill and nutmeg; season with salt and pepper. Drain off any excess liquid. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.
• Add the mozzarella and cheddar to the spinach. Stir well and let cool. (You can pop it into the fridge to hurry this along!)
• Place one puff pastry sheet in the bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish or 9-inch pie plate. Spoon in the spinach filling, using the back of a spatula to level it out. Layer the other puff pastry sheet on top, and then crimp the edges, cutting off any excess. Brush the beaten egg on the puff pastry and sprinkle with the dukkah spice blend. Put the pie on a baking sheet and bake until deep golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Sprinkle with the sumac. Let cool 10 minutes before cutting into the pie.

Steps:

• In a heavy frying pan over medium-high heat, toast the chickpea flour, stirring constantly or shaking the pan, just until it begins to smell toasty and darken slightly. Transfer immediately to a bowl.
• Finely chop the peanuts and add to the bowl with the chickpea flour.
• One at a time, heat the coriander seeds, caraway seeds, dill seeds and sesame seeds in a small skillet over medium-high heat, shaking the pan or stirring constantly, just until each is fragrant and beginning to smell toasty. Remove from the pan and allow to cool completely.
• Working in batches, combine the coriander seeds, caraway seeds and dill seeds in a spice mill and grind to a powder. Transfer to the bowl with the chickpea flour and stir in the sesame seeds, salt, cayenne and sumac.