This roasted red pepper dip popped into my life via America’s Test Kitchen, a show we routinely watch to fall asleep to. I was incredibly intrigued when they mentioned that this is a Syrian version of our Spanish favourite, Romesco Sauce. This tasty dip uses Aleppo pepper flakes and sumac which I don’t use regularly in my cooking but had some at home. Like Romesco, it uses a nut to thicken the dip but Instead of almond flour, the recipe calls for toasted walnuts. Boy, what a difference, the walnuts lend a delicious earthy flavour. This dip is definitely going to be in our repertoire.
Muhammara
Makes about 250 mL (1 cup)
Ingredients:
- 2 red peppers, roasted and peeled
- 60 mL EVOO, divided (additional may be required)
- 113 g shelled, toasted walnuts
- 15 g roasted garlic purée
- 30 g tomato paste
- 15 mL pomegranate molasses I used (see notes)
- 5 g Aleppo pepper flaked
- 5 g sumac
- 2-3 g salt
Directions:
- Toast the walnuts with a little of the olive oil until golden and you can smell them. Allow to cool.
- Combine all of the ingredients in the bowl of your small food processor (I used a magic bullet because I wanted it smooth) and process until smooth. You may wish to add olive oil until the desired consistency is achieved.
- Garnish with a few chopped, toasted walnuts.
Notes:
- The recipe I used had quite a bit of breadcrumb which I have deleted from the recipe because I found it made the dip too thick and thickened it as the dip aged. I prefer a slightly runnier dip.
- I substituted the balsamic vinegar for the pomegranate molasses because I didn’t have any and it was fine, to be honest, it’s just a building flavour and doesn’t depend on it entirely.
- We used the dip as a topping for lamb burgers we had and it was OUTSTANDING!
Kitcheninspirations 