Muhammara

Fed up of hummus? Never! But there's always room for another dip on the table. this one can even be a bit spicy if you want!

Muhammara is a traditional Middle Eastern dip made from charred red peppers, walnuts and bread crumbs. Throw in some extra yummy flavours like garlic and pomegranate molasses, onion and so on and you can thank the dip gods forever more.

Walnuts are so creamy when you grind them down which makes this dip almost creamy and very filling - but in a good full up for longer way.

This is a little more effort than hummus because you need to cook the peppers first but you can cheat if you want (tastes just as good!) with a jar of roasted peppers. This variation has a more powerful taste to it because the peppers have been pickled but it's still yum. So go for it! spend more time doing something else!

Recipe

MUHAMMARA: RED PEPPER DIP

SERVES 4

PREP TIME 5 MINS | COOK TIME 45 MINS | TOTAL 50 MINS

INGREDIENTS

2 red bell peppers

1 cup toasted walnuts

1/2 breadcrumbs (1 piece of bread)

1/3 cup spring onion or 1 shallot (roughly chopped)

1/3 cup olive oil

2 tbsp pomegranate molasses

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 clove garlic (roughly chopped)

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 chilli flakes (Aleppo if possible)

1 tbsp sumac/1 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp salt

METHOD

Pre heat the oven to 220°C. Brush the peppers with a little oil, pierce a couple of whole using a sharp knife and roast (whole) for 45 mins or until skins are charred. Alternatively, pierce then place on an open flame until skins are completely black all over (this will give a delicious smokey flavour).
Meanwhile toast the walnuts, blend the bread in to crumbs and roughly chop the onions and garlic)
Put all ingredients into a blender ready.
Once the peppers are done, put them in to a bowl and cover them for at least 5 mins to make the skins easier to remove. Remove the skins then add peppers to the blender.
Blend.
Serve with an extra drizzle of olive oil and molasses if you're feeling extra generous.