Sweet Flower Dukkah

Condiment

Jul 3

This sweet, exotic, crunchy spice topping is the sweet tooth’s answer to its savory counterpart from Egypt, a sweet spiced riff of the Dukkah , I posted a while back using dried flowers from my garden. Traditional dukkah is a wonderful topping for labne (check out my Coconut Labne here ), salads, soups, and main dish items while this sweet flower dukkah can be sprinkled over desserts or crowning your favorite yogurt or hot cereal, at the start of the day. Or be adventurous by topping it on a savory dish. It’s packed with protein and antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. I love adding dried edible flowers to this dukkah as they add a pop of color and beauty to this unique topping. Pack some of this dukkah in a small tin and bring everywhere with you this summer. Make a double recipe and keep some on hand for a last minute gift. As I mentioned I used dried flower petals from my garden, specifically roses and calendula but you can use corn flowers, chamomile, violas, begonias, lilac, marigolds or pansies.

*A note about drying flowers. I typically dry my flowers in the sun and overnight for 24-48 hours on a paper towel-lined basket.

You can also dry them in a food dehydrator on trays for 2-3 hours at 95-115 degrees F. Make sure you don’t turn the heat on too high. Store the dried flowers in an airtight container, (I like glass) for a few months. Sometimes I add a silica gel packet I have saved from a package of seaweed or crackers to help preserve the dried flowers longer.

Makes about 1 3/4 cup- 2 cups/ 165 grams-250 grams/ Preparation time 15 minutes/ Cook time 8-9 minutes/ Total time 24 minutes

Gather

1/2/ cup/ 75 grams raw hazelnuts

1/2/ cup/ 75 grams raw walnuts

2 tablespoons/ 15.61 grams raw, shelled pistachios

1/4 cup/ 37.5 grams pine nuts

1/2 teaspoon/ 1.14 grams anise seeds

1/4 cup/ 37.5 grams un-hulled sesame seeds

2 teaspoons / 3.92 grams fennel seeds or 1 teaspoon/ 52.3 grams fennel pollen

1 teaspoon/ 2.10 grams cumin seeds

1 tablespoon/ 30 grams hulled hemp seeds

1 teaspoon/ 3.02 grams poppy seeds

4 cardamon pods, crushed and seeds removed (discard the pod shells and only use the seeds)

2 teaspoons/5.52 grams cinnamon powder

1 teaspoon/ 2.81 grams ginger powder

1/2 teaspoon/ 0.9 grams coriander powder

2 teaspoons/ 4 grams dried lemon zest

2 tablespoons/ 28.1 grams coconut sugar

1 tablespoon/ 12 grams monk fruit

1/4 teaspoon/ 1.5 grams sea salt

2 tablespoons / 20 grams roughly chopped dried edible flowers of choice (I used dried rose petals and dried calendula petals)

Make

Place the hazelnuts, walnuts, pistachios, and pine nuts into a medium cast iron pan and toast over medium heat, for 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until browned, being careful not to burn. Remove from the heat and transfer the nuts and seeds to a bowl, to cool.

Place the anise seeds, sesame seeds, fennel seeds (if using, do not toast fennel pollen) and cumin seeds in the cast iron pan and toast over a medium flame for 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and transfer to the bowl with the nuts. Transfer the nut and seed mixture to the bowl of a food processor, then add the hemp seeds, poppy seeds, and cardamon seeds and pulse the mixture for 1 minute. Add the ginger, cinnamon, and coriander powders, the lemon zest, coconut sugar, monk fruit, and sea salt, and pulse until you have a course crumbly mixture. Add in the dried flowers and pulse for another 20 seconds.

Alternatively, transfer the toasted nuts and seeds to a large mortar and grind the mixture with a pestle until you create a coarse crumbly mixture. Add the remaining ingredients until you create a desired consistency. You don’t want any large chunks or pieces of nuts. Transfer the sweet dukkah to an airtight jar with a lid and store it in the fridge for up to a month.