Muhammara
Muhammara is originally from Aleppo, Syria and very popular in Iraqi, Lebanese and Turkish cuisine. It’s usually part of the classic Arabic “mezze spread”, a combination of small dishes served as appetizer or possibly as toppings for meat and or salad. Imagine it on top of grilled meats or as a delicious dip with bread, perfect for any party table.
The mixture of roasted peppers and nuts, together with pomegranate molasses and the spices come together harmoniously. I like the character of Arabic cuisine, the sweetness of paprika and sourness of pomegranate make a special taste. The red color of the paprika and green color of pistachio provide a visual contrast.
You can buy muhammara in supermarkets, but I recommend making your own at home, I promise you will like it, you will feel the difference, just follow my recipe.
It keeps well sealed in the fridge for a week.
Muhammara
Equipment
- Food processor
Ingredients
- 6 large red bell pepper
- 200 gram unsalted nut mix almond, cashew, hazelnut, walnut
- ½ tbsp red chili paste
- 1½ tsp cumin ground
- 1 tbsp paprika powder
- 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
- 50 gram pistachio roughly chopped to garnish
- 50 ml olive oil plus extra to sprinkle
- salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 220°C
- Place the peppers on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and roast in the oven for 30 minutes, until their skins are charred.
- Put the nut mix into a frying pan, drizzle with a bit of olive oil, sprinkle with ½ tsp ground cumin and roast it 6-8 minutes on the stove on medium high heat. Stir constantly, do not burn it!
- Peel and deseed the roasted peppers.
- Put them into a food processor, add olive oil, mashed garlic, chili paste, ground cumin and pomegranate molasses and pulse until almost creamy.
- Add roasted nuts to paprika cream and pulse until it's broken into little pieces. It does not have to be creamy, it will stay a bit crunchy.
- Season with salt.
- Put it into a bowl and sprinkle with pistachio to serve.