If you aren’t familiar with Dukkah, you’re in for two kinds of treat today. Dukkah is an Egyptian spice blend that I put on just about everything. It’s pretty hard to go wrong with toasted nuts and warm spices, especially toasted cumin. I’m a huge sucker for toasted cumin.
I’ve tried a lot of dukkah recipes, and a couple store bought brands and they’ve almost all worked really nicely in sauerkraut, so feel free to use a store-bought version instead of making your own. If you do want to make your own (way cheaper), though, these two recipes (one from Bon Appetit and one from The Kitchn (I use almonds in the latter recipe)) have done me well.
This is very likely to be the last kraut recipe you see from me for a while. The farmers’ markets are about to open, and we’ll be seeing asparagus, strawberries and rhubarb in no time at all. Enjoy!
Dukkah Sauerkraut
Yields 1 quart
If you’re planning on letting this ferment for longer a range of 4-6 weeks or longer, consider using another 1.5 teaspoons of dukkah to keep the flavor strong.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds (850 g) cabbage, one outer leaf removed, reserved and rinsed
- 1 tablespoon 17 g kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons dukkah (30 g)
How-To
Wash cabbage, core and shred cabbage into 1/4 inch strips. I use the slicer blade on my food processor, but do whatever works for you.
- In a very large bowl, toss cabbage with salt. Start massaging, or set aside and let the cabbage and salt do their mating dance in private while you do something else you’ve got on the docket.
- When you return, you should see a puddle in the bottom of the bowl. Massage cabbage until it pretty much stays in a clump when you squeeze it and let go.
- Add dukkah and toss to distribute evenly. Tightly pack the mixture into a clean quart jar. When all of the cabbage is in the jar, there should be a layer of liquid at the top. If there isn’t, press the cabbage down with the flat of your fist until some rises above. If there’s more than 2 inches of space at the top of jar, add a bit of liquid from the bowl into the jar, until it reaches 2 inches.
- Use the reserved cabbage leaf to keep the cabbage submerged and as a shelf for your weight, if using.
- Place a lid on the jar, but don’t secure it fully. You want CO2 to escape but you don’t want air getting in.
- Set the jar on a small plate or in a bowl and let it sit at room temperature for approximately 4 weeks. The longer it ferments, the more sour it will be, but you can taste it as soon as 3 days in to see what you like.
- Once it’s sour enough for you, secure the lid and refrigerate to slow fermentation and keep the sourness at roughly the same level.
I’m away at Sandor Katz’ Foundation for Fermentation Fervor this week, so I won’t be responding to comments!
Brett says
Thanks for the recipe, i just tried this, fermented for 30 days, used almonds and it was awesome!! Going to try hazelnuts or pistatios next time,, thanks for the recipe!