I first tried dukkah many moons ago on a holiday to Sharm El Sheikh with my mum. This Egyptian nut, seed and spice blend has become very popular over recent years with trendy cafés and foodies worldwide, and there are loads of ready-made varieties on the market. But why buy ready-made when it’s just so simple to make? You can use any nuts you like, try pistachios, cashews or almonds. Pine nuts would also work well. You only need half the amount listed here for the 4 lamb fillets, however I always find it so much better to make double when you have the time, so dinner is super fast to whack together next time around. Try it with chicken, salmon or pork, or sprinkled over roasted veggies.
Dukkah Lamb Fillet
Method
TO MAKE THE DUKKAH
Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius.
Toast your hazelnuts on a dry oven tray for 10 minutes.
If your hazelnuts still had their brown skin, just rough them up a bit in a clean tea towel while warm and most of the skin will come off.
Toast your coriander seeds and sesame seeds over a medium heat in a dry pan for a few minutes, until you see the seeds changing colour and becoming fragrant.
Put all the dukkah ingredients into a food processor and pulse until nuts are broken down to a crumble and everything is well combined.
(Store the unused half in an airtight container in your pantry until needed).
Turn oven temperature up to 200 degrees Celsius.
Coat the lamb fillets on all sides by spreading the dukkah on a plate and pressing the lamb into it.
Transfer lamb to a foil lined oven tray and bake for 12 minutes ( this will cook your lamb to medium).
Rest your meat for 5-10 minutes before slicing.
This pairs deliciously well with my carrot purée
Ingredients
- 4 lamb fillets (around 180 grams each)
- 1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted
- 1/2 cup sesame seeds, toasted
- 1/4 cup coriander seeds, toasted
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried mint
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- Pinch of cinnamon
- Pinch of white pepper