Zing Fresh: Where imagination & ingredients grow wild.
Are you up for an adventure? Ready for a tour through your pantry? Explore unchartered territory & give a uniquely personalised creation from within your kitchen cupboards.
Though it can be fun buying gifts “off the shelf”for people, the joy it brings hardly compares to that look on the face you get when giving somebody something that you have made with your own hands. Aside from this, ready-made products from retail shelves usually come with the obligatory enemy – wasteful packaging at best & at worst -the most dreaded; plastic. YUK! (Watch the documentary on Netflix called ‘A Plastic Ocean’ for the lowdown on how dastardly plastic is).
Think about ways you can show your love & appreciation for someone through the commitment of both your time & thought. By making something yourself you can exercise your inner creative and at the same time, help to save the world by conserving waste. Avoid the packaging that comes with purchase and invent something that might otherwise go to waste had you not been able to re purpose it.
You could head straight for the spice rack and invent some DIY dukkah. Simply select a range of seeds, nuts and spices & combine them within a clean (ideally sterilised with boiling hot water) jar. For visual effect it’s great to layer your ingredients in the jar so you see & distinguish the alternation of ingredients’ characteristics. It creates an attractive layering of texture & colour.
All that your lucky gift recipient will need to do is oven or stove top roast the mixture for a minute or two on moderate heat until it begins turning gold & seeds start to pop (1-2 mins.). Then, simply blend the mix coarsely. I like to use a mortar and pestle as I like my nuts to be a little on the chunky /crunchy side rather than finely ground. You could suggest the following ways for the recipient’s potential use of their very own jar of unique dukkah made by their very own one of a kind you.
Some of my favourite blends:
- coriander, white sesame & cumin seeds almonds, rock salt & black peppercorns
- fennel, coriander & black sesame seeds, walnuts, rock salt & chilli flakes
- caraway. cumin & sunflower seeds, cashews & rock salt
Sprinkle dukkah over meats, chicken or fish, vegetables, salads, potatoes, soups, curries or casseroles,, avo on toast, eggs, tofu………. (when I cater dinner parties it get’s a sensational reaction sprinkled over labneh on the scrumptious richness of my 5 hour baked lamb shoulder). You name it, you can probably dip, dunk, drown or dollop anything with dukkah!
Remember to think outside the square though, dukkah need not be savoury. I’m about to try out a sweet version. I’m thinking cinnamon, star anise, cardamon, walnuts & sesame seeds. Maybe even a Christmas inspired version: nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, macadamia, adding the pine green colour of pepitas . once ground, maybe throw in some tiny goji berries for the classic seasonal green & red combo. Enjoy experimenting with divine dukkah over ice cream, swirled through yoghurt, showered over fresh fruits….the only limit is your imagination. Let it go wild , just like Zing!
