Muhammara Red Pepper Walnut Dip Recipes

MUHAMMARA (ROASTED PEPPER & WALNUT SPREAD)

Steps:

• Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add walnuts and drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Cook and stir frequently until walnuts smell toasted and are lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer walnuts to a plate to cool. Reserve 2 or 3 to coarsely chop and use for garnish.
• Place the skillet over medium heat; add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Sprinkle in the breadcrumbs; cook and stir frequently until crumbs turn golden brown, 3 or 4 minutes. Remove from heat and sprinkle onto plate with walnuts.
• Place peppers in bowl of a food processor. Add walnuts, toasted bread crumbs, garlic, lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, salt, paprika, Aleppo pepper flakes, cumin, and cayenne pepper. Drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil.
• Pulse on and off, scraping mixture down occasionally, until mixture is fairly fine and smooth. Transfer to a bowl; cover and refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours.
• Transfer to a shallow serving bowl. Use the back of a spoon to swirl indentations on the surface to capture the garnishes. Garnish with reserved chopped walnuts, a drizzle of olive oil, pepper flakes, and chopped parsley.

MUHAMMARA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Toast walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing halfway through, until golden brown and fragrant, 8-10 minutes. Let cool. Pick out a few walnuts for serving and coarsely chop; set aside.
• Meanwhile, place a rack in upper third of oven and heat broiler. Broil bell peppers on a rimmed baking sheet, turning occasionally, until skins are charred and flesh is softened, 12-15 minutes. (Alternatively, you can char over a gas burner on medium-high, turning occasionally with tongs, 12-15 minutes.)
• Transfer bell peppers to a medium bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap so that they steam, 10 minutes (this extends the cooking and also makes it easier to remove the skins).
• Remove skins from bell peppers (it's okay if some bits don't come off); remove and discard ribs and seeds. Pulse bell peppers, breadcrumbs, oil, Aleppo-style pepper, tahini, lemon juice, paprika, remaining walnuts, and 2 Tbsp. pomegranate molasses in a food processor until mostly smooth; season muhammara with salt.
• Transfer muhammara to a small bowl; drizzle with more pomegranate molasses and top with reserved chopped walnuts.

MUHAMMARA (RED PEPPER AND WALNUT SPREAD)

Steps:

• Combine pepper, scallions, lemon juice, cumin, salt, 2 teaspoons pomegranate molasses, ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, 4 tablespoons olive oil and all but 2 of the walnuts in a food processor and purée until mostly smooth.
• Add 4 tablespoons bread crumbs and pulse to combine. If mixture is still too loose to hold its shape, add remaining bread crumbs and pulse again. Season to taste with salt and red pepper flakes.
• Scrape spread into a bowl and make a well in the center with the back of a spoon. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon pomegranate molasses and ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes in the well. Crush the reserved walnuts between your fingers and sprinkle over the top.

ROASTED RED PEPPER AND WALNUT DIP (MUHUMMARA)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Roast the red peppers. Place each bell pepper over the open flame of a gas burner or grill, cooking until the skin blackens and blisters. Rotate the peppers and blacken all the way around, about 15 minutes. Alternatively, you can roast the peppers in the oven by placing the bell peppers on a baking sheet and placing under the broiler, turning frequently, until the peppers are blackened and blistered all over. Put the blackened peppers in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside to steam.
• Toast the walnuts. Spread the walnuts on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Pop into the oven until light golden brown and aromatic, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
• Peel the red peppers using a paring knife. Discard the peels, stem and seeds. Throw the roasted red peppers, walnuts, garlic, paprika, cumin, red pepper flakes, lemon juice, pomegranate molasses and olive oil into a food processor with a teaspoon of salt, and run until the dip is smooth. Taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly. Cool and serve.

MUHAMMARA (RED PEPPER & WALNUT DIP)

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 8. Roast the peppers for 25-30 mins, turning halfway, until tender and starting to blister (if they don't blister, grill them for a few minutes). Cool a bit, then peel and discard the skins. Discard the seeds and finely chop the flesh. Toast the walnuts for 5 mins until lightly browned.
• Grind all but four of the walnut halves in a spice grinder until they are quite fine but still have some texture. Mix the ground walnuts with the peppers, then add the molasses, spices, tomato paste, garlic, breadcrumbs and sea salt, mix well and season.
• Serve the muhammara on a small plate, drizzling with some olive oil. Add the whole walnuts to the centre and some coriander around the edge.

RED BELL PEPPER-WALNUT DIP (MUHAMMARA)

Steps:

• Toast walnuts in a dry skillet over medium heat, shaking frequently, until fragrant and lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
• Rinse roasted peppers well, remove any membranes or seeds, then dry with paper towels. Transfer to a food processor, along with walnuts, bread crumbs, chili pepper, onion, garlic, pomegranate molasses, lemon juice, cumin, and salt and pepper to taste. Process until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides if necessary.
• With the machine running, slowly pour in olive oil and process until combined. Taste, and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve with toasted pita bread for dipping.