Muhammara (red pepper and walnut dip)
Muhammara is a beautifully simple but richly flavoured dip or spread. Based on roasted red peppers, walnuts, and breadcrumbs, its lightly smoky, spicy, sweet and sour tanginess is popular all over the Levant or eastern Mediterranean. Delicious served on its own with bread or part of a mezze feast of little dishes, muhammara can be ready in 10 – 15 minutes using jarred roasted peppers.
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When I’m asked what my favourite cuisine is, I always say Middle Eastern. I’m thinking of all the wonderful dips, sauces and spreads like hummus, tahini, and baba ghanoush, labneh, fresh salads like tabbouleh, plus falafel, kebabs, flatbreads, loads of vegetables, and flavourings like lemon, mint, parsley, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, and sumac. I especially love that there’s countless number of tasty little dishes known as mezze which you can eat on their own or put a few together and create a wonderful feast.
My favourite food writer is Claudia Roden, the woman responsible for bringing many now-familiar foods to a wider British audience with her ground-breaking 1960s Book of Middle Eastern Food (Kindle edition here). She says (in her mammoth and brilliant Book of Jewish Food + Kindle edition here) that one of the reasons for the appeal of mezze dishes is that, as they’re meant to ‘open the appetite’, they’re generally much more richly flavoured and aromatic than main course dishes.
And ‘richly flavoured and aromatic’ is a great description of Muhammara. Full of bold flavour but so easy, I hope you’ll give my version of this classic a try.
MUHAMMARA: RED PEPPER & WALNUT DIP
Lightly smoky, spicy, sweet and sour Muhammara comes from the eastern Mediterranean part of the Middle East known as the Levant. This includes Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan. While this wonderful, orange-red dip or spread is eaten all over the region, it’s particularly associated with Syria and the city of Aleppo.
Claudia Roden (whose great-grandfather was chief rabbi of Aleppo when it was part of the Ottoman Empire) regards Syrian and Aleppan dishes as being among ‘the most prestigious of… the Middle East’. She describes it as very labour intensive, ‘with a lot of pounding, hollowing, stuffing, wrapping and rolling’.
Thankfully though, this hard work is completely unnecessary in making Muhammara. In the recipe card at the end, I’ve suggested you can make it in 15 minutes. But after the first time, I suspect you’ll be even quicker than that.
INGREDIENTS & EQUIPMENT
The most important ingredient in Muhammara, giving it that smoky, sweetish base, are roasted red peppers. While you can roast them yourself (you’ll find instructions in the notes to the recipe card), to speed things along I use jarred roasted peppers. The other elements that form the bulk of the dip or spread are walnuts for earthy nuttiness and breadcrumbs to give body. You can choose to toast the walnuts if you like, but I don’t bother. You can use fresh breadcrumbs or that store cupboard standby, dried panko crumbs.
There are two Middle Eastern ingredients that help to create Muhammara‘s distinctive flavour.
Pomegranate molasses is a thick syrup made from reduced pomegranate juice. It has a taste that’s both sweet and sharp, making it a great addition to dressings, marinades and dips. It’s widely available in supermarkets these days, or you could support this blog at no extra cost to yourself by buying it online here. Alternative: a squeeze of lemon and a small amount of another sweetener e.g. honey or date syrup.
Aleppo pepper has mild chilli heat that gradually builds combined with a lovely fruity flavour. Some say it has hints of sun-dried tomato. Buy online here. Alternative: any mild chilli flakes.
The remaining ingredients you’ll need are:
- finely chopped garlic
- ground cumin
- salt and black pepper
- extra virgin olive oil
- herb garnish (mint, parsley or coriander)
Traditionally, Muhammara would have been made by hand either with a pestle and mortar or by chopping. While you can do that, personally I much prefer the ease and speed of my food processor or stick hand blender.
HOW TO MAKE MUHAMMARA
Once you’ve gathered the ingredients, it’s really just a case of whizzing them together. Start by putting the roughly chopped roasted peppers in the bowl of the food processor or, if using a stick blender, a suitably shaped container. Also put in the walnuts, breadcrumbs, garlic, pomegranate molasses, ground cumin, plus a quarter teaspoon each of salt and black pepper.
Process the ingredients until you get your preferred texture. I like to keep it a little chunky so you can still see bits of nut and flecks of Aleppo pepper. But whizz for longer if you want it smoother and creamier. Next, add two tablespoons of olive oil and briefly blend to combine.
Now have a taste. Does it need more spice? Salt? Pomegranate molasses? Once you’ve tweaked the Muhammara to suit you, transfer it to a serving bowl.
While it’s good to eat straight away, I like to make it advance to let the flavours meld. So I cover it and pop in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. If necessary, it will be fine in there for up to 3 days. For the best flavour though, do bring it back to room temperature before serving.
SERVING MUHAMMARA
While you could serve this fantastically flavoured dip or spread just as it is, like so many mezze it does look much more appealing with a few garnishes. I always start by making a deep swirl on top with the back of a spoon. Drizzle over pomegranate molasses and extra virgin olive oil and they’ll pool invitingly in the furrows. Now sprinkle on some chopped walnuts and Aleppo pepper.
Finally, because I think some bright green makes a wonderful contrast to the orangey-red of the Muhammara, add a little chopped fresh herb. My favourite with this mezze is mint, but if I don’t have any then coriander or parsley are good too.
Now all you have to do is dig in. I love scooping it up with flatbread (try my no yeast Quick Flatbreads and Yogurt Flatbreads) or spread it on a chunkier bread like impressive looking Ramazan Pidesi: Turkish flatbread topped with sesame and nigella seeds. You could also have some crunchy veg crudites on hand for dipping too: try carrot and celery sticks or radishes.
If you want to eat Muhammara as part of a mezze feast, some of my other dishes that would go well with it include:
- Roasted Beetroot Hummus
- Lamb Kofte Kebabs
- Artichoke Spread with Garlic, Lemon & Mint
- Baba Ganoush with Roasted Garlic
- Aubergine & Beetroot Moutabal
- Labneh: homemade yogurt cheese
- Batata Harra: Lebanese spicy potatoes
- Pea & Mint Baked Falafel
- Pork Kebabs with Fennel & Orange
If you’ve made my version of Muhammara, I’d love to know what you thought. Please leave a comment and recipe rating.
Muhammara (red pepper and walnut dip)
A beautifully simple but richly flavoured Middle Eastern dip or spread. With roasted red peppers, walnuts, and breadcrumbs, it has a lightly smoky, spicy, sweet and sour tanginess. Delicious served on its own with bread and/or raw veggies, or serve as part of a mezze feast.
It's recommended that you read the accompanying blog post before starting the recipe.
Ingredients
- 3 roasted red peppers (see Recipe Notes)
- 100 g walnuts
- 50 g breadcrumbs (fresh or panko)
- 2 large cloves garlic (finely chopped)
- 1 tbsp/15 ml pomegranate molasses (see Recipe Notes)
- 1 rounded tsp Aleppo pepper (or mild chilli flakes)
- 1 rounded tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp/30 ml extra virgin olive oil
Garnishes
- pomegranate molasses
- extra virgin olive oil
- walnuts (finely chopped)
- Aleppo pepper or chilli flakes
- mint, parsley or coriander leaves (finely chopped)
Instructions
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Roughly chop the roasted peppers and put in the bowl of a food processor or suitable container if using an immersion/stick blender.
Add the walnuts, breadcrumbs, garlic, pomegranate molasses, Aleppo pepper or chilli flakes, ground cumin, plus ¼ tsp each of salt and pepper.
-
Process until the ingredients are your preferred texture: more time for a creamy, smooth texture, less if you want it chunkier.
-
Add the extra virgin olive oil and briefly blend to combine.
Taste and add more of any flavouring if you think it needs it.
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Transfer to a serving bowl and use the back of a spoon to make a deep swirl on top.
Drizzle over more pomegranate molasses and olive oil then sprinkle with chopped walnuts, Aleppo pepper, and the chopped herb.
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Serve at room temperature with bread and/or vegetables for dipping or spreading, or as part of a mezze meal with other dishes.
Can be stored covered in the fridge for up to 3 days. Bring back to room temperature before serving.
Recipe Notes
Roasted red peppers. For convenience, I use jarred roasted peppers for this recipe. If you prefer to roast your own you can do this either under a grill at its highest setting, turning often, or in a very hot oven, turning a few times. When the peppers are lightly charred all over, transfer to a heatproof bowl, cover with a plate or similar and leave until cold. Discard the core, seeds and skin.
Pomegranate molasses. Adds a delicious sweet and sour flavour. Now widely available or can be bought online here (paid link). If you don't have it, use lemon juice and another sweetener (e.g. honey or date syrup) to taste.
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