Didn’t-realise-I-was-hipster-until-I-invented Avocado Seed Dukkah

I am so excited about this recipe that I just had to share it with you. A couple of weeks ago, I read an article extolling the virtues of eating avocado seeds. They’re apparently the most nutritious part of an avocado – high in antioxidants, potassium and fibre, and can lower cholesterol.

Avocado - it's not just the creamy flesh that's edible

Dried, ground avocado seed

So I started drying the avocado seeds from my daily avocado salad on my window sill. Yesterday, I put them in a bag, smashed them with a heavy mallet then blended them until coarsely chopped. They spent the afternoon drying on a metal tray in a sunny spot. They rapidly turned from a creamy colour to a vibrant ochre, and their bitter tasted receded until they simply tasted like, well, avocado. I thought I’d simply scatter the seed over salads during the week but wasn’t sure what else they’d be good for

As I lazed on the outdoor couch beside them, reading a magazine, an idea started to form. An avocado seed dukkah, with the macadamia nuts I happened to have in the fridge. Ooh, and why not a couple of kaffir lime leaves from the tree beside the outdoor couch?

Macadamia nuts, ready to roast

Macadamia nuts are an Australian native nut that is one of my favourites, with an addictive buttery flavour and gentle crunch. They’re rich in monounsaturated fats, antioxidants, fibre, vitamins and minerals.

Kaffir limes are mostly grown for their leaves, which are popular in Asian cooking. The fruit are small and lumpy but the zest and the small amount of juice are also useful in a green curry. 

The trees need a lot of sun and aren’t meant to grow in Canberra because of our killer frosts. I just wrap my tree in a blanket when the night time temperature forecasts is below -2 degrees, and it’s now around eight years old so I must be doing something right. Like all citrus, kaffir limes like a good feed in autumn and spring – but never fertilise them while they’re flowering, as this causes citrus to drop their flowers, which means no fruit.

My kaffir lime, enjoying some winter sun

Grinding the spices

Back to the dukkah. I roasted a cup of macadamias in a 180 degree oven for 10 minutes, then put in them in the food processor with several roughly chopped lime leaves, blended until well coarsely chopped and put the mix in a large bowl. The heat from the macadamias helped draw the oils from the leaves, infusing their flavour into the nuts.

I heated a dry fry pan over a medium heat, then toasted my half cup of ground avocado seed and a half cup of sesame seeds for a couple of minutes then added the seeds to the bowl. 

Lastly, I toasted two tablespoons each of cumin and coriander seeds and a tablespoon of fennel seeds, for about two minutes, then roughly ground them in my mortar and pestle and emptied them into the bowl. I added two teaspoons of Murray River pink salt flakes, a teaspoon of freshly ground pepper and mixed well.

 

The pink salt flakes, ready to stir into the dukkah

And it was magnificent. The mild avocado and zesty lime flavours perfectly complemented the more traditional dukkah ingredients, while the macadamia gave just the right amount of crunch.

To serve, I heated some olives with a little olive oil and a shredded lime leaf in the oven for a few minutes, and added them to the serving platter (aka chopping board) along with a generous bowl of dukkah, a less generous bowl of good extra virgin olive oil and a slab of freshly made sourdough from great Canberra bakery, Autolyse. I tore off chunks of the sourdough, dipped it in the oil and then into the dukkah. Truly a lunch of hipster champions!

Dukkah, warm olives, olive oil and sourdough - perfect.

There’s still a few cups of dukkah left over. It will be perfect sprinkled over salads or roasted vegies, stirred through avocado guacamole, used as a crust for just about any pan-fried or oven-roasted protein, and for at least a couple more lazy weekend lunches.