How many times have you rushed to the store to pick up chips, dips and crackers for a last minute party only to get to the checkout and balk at the price tag? I probably don’t notice it as much here in the Netherlands since everything is so unbelievably affordable, but back in Australia prices were manic … and, I suspect, manic prices will continue to be the norm over there. I love cheese and dips at parties just as much as the next person; they are pretty much a staple at our house when we have people over.
The other day I made some delicious smokey baba ganoush dip, and the week before that I made hummus … all super delicious and terribly easy to make at home. If I have dip on hand I would generally buy the crackers that go with it. Usually I get the plain ones: water crackers, melba toasts, crispy baguette slices. The seedy ones with more flavour are usually more expensive, and they come in way too much packaging for my liking, so I typically give them a miss. I do try to do my bit for the environment.
Anyway, with a stroke of luck one night I had left the tv on the 24Kitchen channel. Annabel Langbein was demonstrating a variety of drool-worthy dishes, as usual. It was 2 am and here I was, glued to the screen the minute she mentioned ‘Lavosh Crisp Breads’. It was exactly the recipe I have always wanted to learn! And it simply blew me away at how easy it was to do. So today I borrowed her marvelous recipe and made some for myself.
Lavosh (Lavash) is predominantly found in Armenia, and it comes either as a soft wrap or crisp like these crackers I made today. Not entirely sure if they all come with sesame seeds or just plain, but I do know this recipe is stellar. After baking these I could not stop eating them as I took photos. The taste of toasted sesames really produce a wonderful savoury flavour, especially from the black sesames. Who knew all this could come from just eight simple ingredients?
Sesame Lavosh (by Annabel Langbein)
1 cup plain flour
⅓ cup wholemeal flour
2 tbsp each black and white sesame seeds or 4 tbsp just one kind
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh oregano or 1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp sesame oil
½ cup water
Preheat oven to 165˚C and line an oven tray with baking paper. In a mixing bowl stir together the flours, sesame seeds, oregano and salt. Mix the oils and water together and add to the dry ingredients, stirring to form a soft, pliable dough.
Divide the dough into 4 pieces and roll each out on a lightly floured board as thinly as possible. Each piece of dough should yield a rectangle about 34 x 16cm. Cut each rectangle into strips measuring about 4 x 17cm and roll again. They need to be virtually see-through.
Carefully transfer strips to a baking tray, brush lightly with oil and sprinkle with flaky salt. Bake until crisp and pale golden – about 15-18 minutes. Allow to cool fully then store in an airtight container.
And there you have it … crisp and oh-so flavourful crisp breads to compliment your dip of choice. Considering they already pack so much flavour I think serving them with a simple yoghurt and mint dip would suffice; the flavours of both marry so well together. Did not have either yoghurt or mint in the fridge so I made some lime and cracked pepper tuna spread to go with it. I just mixed a can of tuna with mayo, some lime juice, lime zest and freshly cracked pepper. It’s good as a dip, and even better in sandwiches!
Even though these are made with sesame seeds, it is my suspicion that if I keep the dough recipe the same but substitute the sesames for other herbs, I can produce any variety of crisp breads to suit. No more buying rosemary and sea salt crisp breads for € 5 a box, and then there’s like ten of them in there only. I shall investigate this line of thought further and I will publish my findings in a future post. Would be good to make an entire post dedicated to the various different crisps one can make for your next house party. Oooh, perhaps a post all on finger foods and hors d’ouvres!
In the meantime, enjoy this post. I assure you that just one crisp will not be enough … so make sure you make lots of them. Also, if you have never come across Anabel Langbein, I think it’s worth checking out her website : Annabel Langbein, The Free Range Cook. She is brilliant and I love her show. She also is a wonderful gardener ~ man, I wish I could have a garden half as awesome as hers. Perhaps I should consider a house with a garden in future and try my hand at it. Something to definitely think about for the future.
~ Enjoy! ~
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