a recipe for eggs with dukkah and a sunday suppers workshop | 9.30 & 10.1 brooklyn

I’m happy to announce a food and photography workshop with me at the Sunday Suppers studio in Brooklyn on September 30th and October 1st. You can sign up for one or both days. Here is a brief description.

FOR TICKETS, GO TO SUNDAY SUPPERS.

An intensive Food + Photography Workshop with Aran Goyoaga

Day one: Sweet

This will be a hands-on day spent learning Aran’s process from baking, to styling food for camera, thinking about light and composition. You will get to shoot process and still life images under Aran’s guidance. We will take advantage of late summer and early fall produce to create her pear and hazelnut frangipane tart, hibiscus poached peaches with pink peppercorn meringue and sourdough bread and fall tartines.

Day Two: Savory

On day two, Aran will continue to dig deeper into her styling and photography process cooking while making gluten-free pasta, roasted chicken with apples, rose hips and wild herbs and mushrooms with eggs on toast. You will get to photograph the process and style your own still life images.

Each day incorporates a lesson from Aran about cooking and baking as well as styling and photographing the work. Attendees will watch Aran make a sweet and savory recipe, and be invited to partake in the action as well. Watching Aran cook and style is a lesson in artistic and fluid creation, she is a true natural. Aran will also discuss her social media approach and getting work published.

The day will be spent immersed in learning food photography & styling. Topics include: how to change digital camera settings, their effects on your photographs, lenses, food styling, prop styling, controlling & using natural light, editing photos in Lightroom, and how to build a small business through social media, branding, and a visual digital presence.

I first tried dried rose in dukkah at The London Plane in Seattle. I used to go often simply to eat their soft-cooked eggs with hazelnut and rose dukkah. I know so simple and something so easy to recreate, but it was a thing for me for a while. When they took it off the menu, I started making it myself and gifting it to friends. It is so simple. Dukkah is a spice blend that usually combines sesame seeds, spices and toasted nuts. The variations can be endless of course so the recipe that I am including here is a guideline and you can modify it to your liking. You can use it with so many things meat, grain bowls, eggs, yogurt…. One of my favorite breakfasts is a thick slice of broiled sourdough bread, generous drizzle of olive oil and dukkah.

My recipe below mixes pistachios and rose but again, use whatever is in your pantry.

Dukkah with soft-cooked eggs

For the dukkah

2/3 cup shelled pistachios
1/3 cup sesame seeds
2 tablespoons cumin seeds
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons flaky salt
2 teaspoons dried rose petals

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Place the pistachios in a baking sheet and toast in oven for 5 minutes until fragrant. When they are cool enough to handle, coarsely chop them.

2. Combine the sesame seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds and fennel in a sauce pan or skillet and toast over medium high heat until fragrant, about 3 minutes. The sesame seeds will release a bit of their oil and be careful not to burn them.

3. Mix the chopped pistachios, seeds, black pepper, salt and rose petals in a bowl. Store in a glass jar at room temperature for up to one month.

Soft-cooked eggs

There are two important things for soft cooked eggs. One is that the eggs are at room temperature when you start. This will prevent the shells from cracking when you add them into the boiling water. If your eggs have been in the refrigerator and want to speed up the process, submerge the eggs in a bowl with warm water and wait 10 minutes. And two, timing is everything.

Fill a medium pot with water and bring it to a brisk boil. I like to swirl the boiling water in circles with a spoon. The swirling motion will help the yolk remain in the center of the egg when it’s added into the water. Gently lower the eggs into the water, reduce heat to low so the water is simmering at this point. Cover the pan and time exactly 6 minutes. After the time is up, remove the eggs from the water and submerge them in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. Once cooled enough to handle, gently crack the shell and peel the eggs. The egg white should be firm and yolk runny.

If you prefer yolks that are creamy but not runny, cook them for 7 minutes instead.