Happy New Year everyone, hope you managing to keep your spirits up despite continued, pandemic-related doom and gloom. UK hopes of things returning slowly to a semblance of normality after the introduction of the vaccine have been dimmed by another, at least 7 weeks long, country-wide lockdown. Oh and don’t even get me started on Brexit…
I’m trying my hardest not to dwell on the state of the world but channel my energy into things I enjoy and which are good for me: cooking, yoga, running, meditation and true crime podcasts! Yes, that last one should probably not be on the ‘good for me’ list at all but I’m addicted and I cannot stop listening to them.
Recipe-wise, our household is abstaining from sweet stuff so I’m plotting savoury and mostly healthy recipes this month. Today’s recipe is very January suitable. I’ve been after some quality seed crackers and so I have decided to have a go at making them myself and they were an instant hit in my house, so I hope you’ll love them too. These multiseed crackers are a breeze to put together, they can be oil-free if you wish (although I like to add a bit of oil as it improves their texture), they are delightfully savoury, slightly cheesy and totally addictive.
They make for perfect hummus (or any dip for that matter) eating devices, but they are also delicious on their own. Or with a glass of wine and some quality vegan cheese. They make for a great post-running snack but not so much a pre-running one – I stuffed my face with the offcuts while procrastinating my run the other day and I paid for it with feeling slow and sluggish… If your self control mechanism works better than mine though, store them in an airtight jar on the counter and they will remain crispy and will amuse your bouche for a number of days 😉 . Oh, I almost forgot to add that the crumbs make a great salad or pasta topper!
- 2-3 tbsp ground flax seeds (I use golden flax)
- 120 g / 1 cup raw sunflower seeds
- 140 g / 1 cup raw pumpkin seeds
- 17 g / 2 tbsp white sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp nigella seeds (adds onion-y flavour)
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¾ tsp fine sea salt
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp crushed dry rosemary*
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
- 18 g / 2 tbsp rice flour (any flour should do!)
- 30 ml / 2 tbsp oil (I used olive oil)**
- Place ground flax seeds in a large mixing bowl, stir in 90 ml / 6 tbsp of water and set aside in the fridge for the mixture to thicken into flax eggs. Use 3 tbsp of ground flax and 120 ml / ½ cup of water for a firmer / less delicate cracker.
- Preheat your oven to 180° C / 355° F oven and line a large baking tray with some baking paper.
- Once thickened, add in all the seeds, seasonings and oil and stir through until all the ingredients are evenly distributed. If not using nutritional yeast (which I recommend if you have it), you may need an extra tablespoon of rice / almond flour to absorb the extra moisture.
- Blob the mixture on the prepared baking tray and compress the mixture roughly using a spatula, then to make sure the mixture is even and as thin as possible (about 0.5 cm / 0.2″), place another piece of baking paper on top of the mixture and roll it out with a rolling pin. Make sure it’s evenly compressed with no gaps.
- Bake for about 15 minutes then take out of the oven and using a pizza cutter or a sharp knife, make shallow markings on the mixture to enable you to cut it into individual pieces later. Return to the oven for another 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, you should be able to cut the mixture and remove the outside pieces that tend to brown quicker. Return the middle pieces to the oven for another 10 minutes – until browned.
- Allow the crackers to cool – they will crisp up as they cool. Store in an airtight container.
**You can skip the oil if you prefer although it does render a nicer texture in my opinion and compensate by adding an extra flax egg (1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp water) instead.