CRISPY CUMIN SESAME CRACKERS

I can't really take the credit for this one. I got home from work and my domestic goddess of a flatmate had already started making them. I grabbed my camera and took a few snaps, of what turned out to be the most delicious, hit-the-spot crackers we ever did taste. A perfect substitute for bread, awesome with all kinds of dips and antipasto platters, or even crumbled over smoothies and desserts (omit the S + P).

We've made several batches since this first go, mixing it up every time with different combos of nuts, seeds and spices. They taste delicious every time!

Nutritionally, these crackers are awesome! Dairy free, grain free, gluten free, sugar free and 100% natural. Just 1/4 cup of sunflower seeds provides you with 62% RDI of vitamin E, and 35% RDI of Vitamin B1 and Manganese. They contain a whole raft of other goodies like copper, magnesium, phosphorous, folate and selenium. Sesame seeds provide not only significant amounts of manganese and copper, but they are also a good source of calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, vitamin B1, zinc and dietary fibre.

Here's the basic recipe

1 cup sunflower seeds (soaked/activated*)
1 cup sesame seeds (soaked/activated*)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried herbs of choice - parsley, thyme, rosemary
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
A small amount of filtered water, just enough to make a paste

*Activation - this is optional, and is simply the process a seed goes through in order to sprout - rain saturates dormant seeds, releasing their protective coating allowing them to grow. 'Activating' mimics this natural process, releasing enzyme inhibitors so the seeds' nutrients are more available to our bodies. Soak sesame seeds overnight and sunflower seeds for 2 hours. Rinse and drain well, and use less water in your cracker mixture as you will already have quite a bit present. For a real nutrition boost, you could even make these crackers with fully sprouted seeds.

Method
Preheat your oven to 160 degrees C.

Place your sunflower and sesame seeds in your blender (Optimum and Vitamix are perfect for this) and pulse into a flour. Add in cumin, dried herbs, salt and pepper and pulse a couple more times.

Trickle in water and stir through, until you've got a mixture that binds together well.

Press the mixture between two sheets of baking paper, and using a rolling pin, spread it out evenly and thinly. Now's the time for any extra sprinkles of salt, pepper or herbs :)

Remove the upper sheet of paper, and score lines into desired shapes with a knife.

Bake until golden - 15-20 mins (it pays to keep an eye on them as they can turn brown fast!). Make sure they are crispy in the centre and leave them to cool completely, before breaking into pieces along your score lines.

Crunchy, tasty and addictive! Enjoy!

Have a play

This recipe is so simple and versatile. Here are a few options:

Use nut flours instead of seed flour
Sub in chia seeds, flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds, buckwheat groats or amaranth.
Keep the sesame seeds whole, it gives the crackers a great texture
Try different dried herbs and spices - parsley, basil, rosemary, turmeric, cinnamon, coriander, paprika, garlic powder
For extra flavour or better binding if needed: 1 Tbsp nut butter or olive oil

Crackers round 2 - we didn't blend the sesame seeds. Instead, add them later for a lighter texture.