Raw Walnut Zucchini Crackers

You will have to forgive me. There may be a forthcoming onslaught of recipes using the dehydrator.

Towards the end of my move, the dehydrator was out in full force. Need travel snacks? Dehydrate them! Not sure what to do with random bits and bobs in the kitchen? Throw them together to get dehydrated. I quickly reconsidered my suggestion to move without the dehydrator. It suddenly made sense to bring it along for the ride.

I bookmarked this recipe because it promised to be better than Ritz crackers. It was also a fun way to sneak zucchini into a cracker along with walnuts, flax and hemp seeds. Unlike my previous savoury hemp crackers, I kept the flavours neutral. This way, they can equally be paired with homemade nutella, vanilla blueberry chia jam, vegan smoked salmon, rosemary cashew cheese, or a nacho cheese sauce. Or go even more travel friendly with a simple tomato and avocado.

These crackers were a bit salty for my tastes but they were somewhat reminiscent of Ritz crackers, in the way walnuts can be buttery. However, they were more coarse due to all the fun bits in it.

For those that do not have a dehydrator, these crackers can also be made baked. And I don’t mean with the oven going for 8 hours. See below for a baked option.

This is my submission to this month’s Bookmarked Recipes.

Raw Walnut Zucchini Crackers
From The Rawtarian

2.5 cups walnuts, soaked for at least an hour, drained and rinsed
2.5 cups zucchini, chopped (1 large)
1/4 cup hemp seeds
2 tsp salt, or to taste (I suggest starting with less — these were quite salty)
1/2 cup golden flax seeds, ground
1/2-1 cup water

1. Place soaked walnuts in food processor fitted with its S-blade. Process until coarsely ground, scraping down the sides as needed. Remove and place in a large bowl.

2. Place zucchini in food processor and process until finely chopped. Remove and add to the walnuts.

3. Add the hemp seeds and salt to the bowl and mix well. Stir in the ground flax seeds and mix until well combined. Add water to make the dough spreadable (I used a full cup).

4. Working quickly, divide dough into 2 and place each on a separate dehydrator mat. Spread dough to form a thin paste on each tray.

5. Dehydrate at 115F for 1 hour, then lower to 105F for a further 8-12 hours. After a couple of hours, flip the dough onto a mesh sheet and score the dough where you would like to cut them. They are done when they snap easily.

Alternatively, you can try baking them, as seen here.

Makes a lot of crackers!