Healthy Snacks

It is that time of the year again....

...when you really crave something other than chocolate

Here are 3 recipes for something a bit more wholesome and very tasty.

Dukkah

Anyone listening to Radio 4 this week will have probably been hearing about the great cookery writer, Claudia Roden.  She is credited with introducing this lovely spice mix to Britain and indeed a lot of the rest of the world.  It is pronounced do'ha by the way (the wonders of radio versus a recipe book!)

Anyway, I don't have her original recipe and a quick internet search revealed that everyone has their own blend of favourite flavours so here goes with mine.  I apologise now for lack of accurate quantities, this isn't that sort of recipe.

4 tablespoons of nuts - lightly roasted

2 tablespoons of sesame seeds

1 table spoon each of coriander seed, cumin seed, fennel seeds

some salt, quite a lot of salt actually, this is a spicy salt mix

dried mint to taste, oregano would work as well.

lightly roast all of these in a dry frying pan or warm oven.

Crush the seeds and food process / crush the lot together.

Dip bread in olive oil and then the dukkah.

Sprinkle onto meat before grilling or roasting

Mix into yoghurt or mayonnaise for a lovely dip

any other ideas.....

Savoury Seed Mix

Take your favourite seeds, I use sunflower, sesame and linseed and flax.

Spread on a baking sheet in a thin layer.

Sprinkle over soy sauce, not too wet.

Roast at 180 and check every 5 minutes.

This cooks very unevenly so you really do need to check and stir the seeds every five minutes until they are evenly dry.

Take out of oven and while they cool a little bit pop a jam jar in the oven to sterilise it.

Add cold seeds to cold jar and seal.

If you leave the seeds around for too long they re-absorb all the moisture you have just cooked out and go sticky.

There are lots of recipes on the internet that include sugars, herbs and spices.  I avoid the sugary as they can really burn your oven tray very quickly.  Mixes of spices and salt are nice as well.

Dried Bananas

I don't usually go in for recipes that need special equipment but if you happen to have a dehydrator or an Aga then have a go.

Slice bananas, dip into lemon water and dry them out.


I run bread making course in Surrey, please visit my website for more details:
http://www.tasteofthepast.co.uk/saturday-bread-courses/