Bacon and Egg Salad Sandwich with Dukkah and Peppery Greens

The Sandwich – Makes one sandwich, but can be doubled, tripled, etc.

• 2 hard cooked eggs, peeled and cooled
• 1 tablespoon aioli or good mayonnaise + more for spreading on the bread, if desired
• 1 teaspoon Dijon or stoneground mustard (if not using an aioli with a strong mustard flavor) 1 teaspoon dukkah, or more, or less, to taste
• A healthy pinch of dukkah, or more, or less, to taste
• 2 slices good sandwich bread, toasted (See note, below.)
• 1 or 2 slices of natural bacon, cooked until crisp (optional)
• Small handful of watercress or arugula

1. Halve the eggs, remove the yolks and put them in a small bowl.
2. Add the aioli and mustard (if using) and mash together well, using the back of a fork. Coarsely chop the whites of the eggs and stir them into the mashed yolks, with the dukkah. Taste, and add more salt, or more dukkah, or both, if necessary. (If adding both, add the dukkah first, taste again, and then add salt if necessary. Remember, the dukkah has salt in it.)
3. If you want a bit of extra aioli or mayonnaise on the toasted bread, spread some on one or both slices.
4. You can either chop the bacon up and stir it into the egg salad, or put the strips on the sandwich itself. Either way, heap the egg salad and greens on the toasted bread. other.
5. Put the sides together, then cut in half.
6. Enjoy!! ;o)

Dukkah – Makes a bit more than ¼ cup

• 2 tablespoons raw pepitas or pumpkin seeds
• 2 teaspoons whole cumin seeds
• 2 teaspoons whole coriander seeds
• 2 tablespoons raw sesame seeds
• 1 ½ teaspoons good black peppercorns or grains of paradise (I like Malabar black pepper for this, but a Tellicherry will also do just fine.)
• ½ teaspoon flaky sea salt, or more to taste

1. Toast the pepitas or pumpkin seeds in a small heavy skillet until they just start to darken and release their fragrance. Remove immediately from the pan and allow them to cool a bit.
2. Toast the cumin and coriander seeds, each in turn, in the same skillet, removing from the pan as soon as they start to darken. Do not tarry, as they can burn easily in the hot pan, even when removed from the stove.
3. Toast the sesame seeds in the same skillet, shaking periodically to make sure they brown evenly. Remove when they start to darken just a bit.
4. Grind the pepitas in a spice mill to a coarse powder. Don’t worry if there are a few larger pieces. Remove from the mill and put into a medium bowl.
5. Grind the spices together until fine, and then add to the bowl with the ground pepitas.
6. Grind the peppercorns coarsely and add to the bowl.
7. Add the sesame seeds and salt and stir well until the blend is thoroughly combined.
8. Store, tightly covered, in the refrigerator. It should hold for several weeks at least, depending on the freshness of the pepitas and sesame seeds.
9. Enjoy!! ;o)