These crackers come with a warning: they are so moreish, you’ll hide them from the rest of the household or wish you’d made a double batch. So simple, so crunchy, so deliciously spiked with the warming notes of cumin. Serve them with this zingy protein-packed dip, a lovely alternative to hummus. I love that both recipes have only a handful of ingredients, allowing all components to shine. Both are grain-free and dairy-free, making them an allergy-friendly healthy snack-fest.
For the dip:
1 small kumara (sweet potato), diced small – about 1 cup
½ cup red lentils
1 ½ cups water (more if you think it risks drying out)
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1 – 1½ tsp salt, to taste
½ tsp ground cumin
good grind of pepper
1 Tbsp tahini
1 small clove of garlic, crushed
For the crackers:
1 cup pumpkin seeds/pepitas
½ cup ground almonds
1 Tbsp cumin seeds
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp water
1 tsp salt
Start by preparing the dip. On a low heat, cook the lentils and chopped kumara together, aiming for very soft kumara. Let it simmer right down until most of the water is absorbed and the lentils have swelled up to twice their volume, forming a soft mush around the chunks of sweet potato. Leave it to cool. (this is important: once, I impatiently added everything else to the kumara mix while it was still hot, and the heat effectively ‘cooked’ the other ingredients, which regrettably dulled their flavour…) Make your crackers while it cools.
Preheat the oven to 180C and cover a baking tray with a sheet of baking paper. Put all ingredients in a food processor and blitz for a couple of minutes. The ‘dough’ will be a luscious pistachio green, but alas, this will fade as the crackers bake. Spread the ‘dough’ onto the prepared baking tray. I find it helps to use my hands and mould it into vaguely rectangular shape, which helps to avoid strange edges and peninsulas in the next step.
Put another piece of baking paper on top of the ‘dough’ and roll it out evenly with a rolling pin. It will cover a good deal of the baking tray. If you’re a ruler kind of person, then you’re aiming for about 5mm thick. Peel off the top sheet of paper and score the dough with a knife, to create cracker shapes. Bake for 15 mins until golden, then leave to cool on the tray. (sometimes the thinner pieces around the edge will cook faster, so if you feel that the thicker interior crackers need a little more tanning, take the crispy edge crackers off and pop the tray back in the oven for another few minutes)
To create the dip, put the cooled kumara/lentil mix and all remaining ingredients into a food processor and whiz until very smooth. Season to taste – add more lemon juice if required.
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