soft boiled eggs with dukkah
Was it Gordon Ramsay who decided if he would hire a chef based on how they cooked an egg? I’m not sure, but let’s say it is. I agree. And a boiled egg doesn’t give anything away, all happily encapsulated in an opaque shell, keeping its secrets to itself. Can you trust it? Has it cooked too much, or too little?
Obviously a 65 degree egg is a different story (see here), but cooking an egg in normal conditions requires attention and good judgment. Luckily though, attention is only required for a short period of time. In this recipe, inspired by Greg Malouf’s version, dukkah eggs would land you a job at Mr Ramsay’s.
Dukkah is a spice mix I got introduced to only four years ago. It originates from Egypt and has become popular, with many restaurants serving it with dipping olive oil and bread. It is similar to zaatar, but is quite heavy on the spicing, so I can’t have it in the same quantities I do with zaatar. Making dukkah is easy, and the recipe below can tolerate a large margin of error.
Traditionally, roasted hazelnuts are used, but I don’t keep hazelnuts around. I do keep pistachios though, and they can be used instead. So this is how you make dukkah, my way.
2 tbsp cumin seeds (heaped, roasted, crushed)
2 tbsp coriander seeds (heaped, roasted, crushed)
3 tbsp sesame seeds (heaped, roasted, crushed roughly)
3 tbsp pistachios (peeled, heaped, crushed roughly)
large pinch of salt (good salt, like Maldon)
large pinch of pepper (fine ground)
Instructions: mix all of the above
Dukkah spice mix
Now for the eggs. Its best to boil eggs that are at room temperature, so they don’t crack.
- Put the eggs in a pot, cover with cold water.
- Bring to simmer, and simmer for 2 minutes
- Take out of boiling water, and into cold water immediately. Keep there for 3 minutes
- Peel eggs, dust in white flour and deep fry for 1.5 minutes, until slightly golden
- Put some dukkah in a plate and roll eggs around in dukkah
Serve with nice crusty bread and goat’s cheese. Enjoy thoroughly.
tasty dukkah crusted eggs
7 comments
Eggs are versatile and the cheapest protein-the way you cooked it-with so much spices-something new-good post.
Oh my gosh! How on earth do you manage to make a simple egg look so good? Gordon Ramsay got the wrong person! I am so trying this recipe…thank you. xx
These sound soo amazing. Ive never heard of frying hard boiled eggs. Yum!!
foodbin – thanks 🙂
Helen – let me know how you go, it's fantastic
Zoe – The frying does two things, it heats it up after we cooled it down to stop the yolk from getting too hard, and it creates a crust that the dukkah can adhere to.
Very interesting dish … looks really delicious .. I never thought of eating eggs this way ..
But i just have a little thing to correct you on … Dokka or Dukkah is not egyptian … its Palestinian … and originates from northern Palestine .. particularly in the city of Gazza .. its a spice mix similar to Zattar .. and i grew up dipping it in olive oil like you would do to Zattar ….
I really think you are doing a great Job on your site … and will definitely become a regular visiter … take care … Laila
Hi Laila
Thanks for the compliments 🙂 It’s great to have you as a reader.
To be honest, I had never heard of dokka, dukkah or duqqa before I came to Australia, so I can not judge the etymology or origins. Wikipedia says it’s originally Egyptian, and the resource references the Oxford Companion to Food. My Egyptian friend Amr tells me that he grew up on it too… What’s your recipe?
Fouad