Muhammara

Name: Muhammara
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 50 min
Cuisine: Syria
Ingredients: 3 red peppers, or 350 g jarred roasted red peppers, drained; 100 g (1 cup) walnuts; 40 g (¾ cup) fresh breadcrumbs, from day-old bread; 1 clove garlic; 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses, plus extra to drizzle; 1 tbsp lemon juice; 1½ tsp Aleppo pepper or ½ tsp chili flakes plus 1 tsp sweet paprika; 1 tsp ground cumin; 4 g (⅔ tsp) fine sea salt; 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve

Roasted red pepper and walnut dip with pomegranate molasses

Makes: about 500 g (2 cups)
Hands-on: 15 min
Total: 50 min
Level: Easy

Muhammara is a rich, rust-red dip of roasted peppers, toasted walnuts, breadcrumbs and pomegranate molasses, with a gentle warmth from Aleppo pepper. It is sweet, sour, smoky and nutty in one bite.

Ingredients

3red peppersor 350 g jarred roasted red peppers, drained
100 gwalnuts (1 cup)
40 gfresh breadcrumbs (¾ cup)from day-old bread
1 clovegarlic
2 tbsppomegranate molassesplus extra to drizzle
1 tbsplemon juice
1½ tspAleppo pepper or ½ tsp chili flakes plus 1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tspground cumin
4 gfine sea salt (⅔ tsp)
4 tbspextra-virgin olive oilplus extra to serve

Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian, Dairy-free
Allergens: tree nuts, gluten
Origin: Syria (Aleppo)
Season: Summer, Autumn

Method

If roasting your own peppers, char them under a hot oven grill (broiler) or over a flame, turning, until blackened all over, 15–20 minutes. Put them in a bowl, cover and leave 10 minutes, then peel and seed. 30 min
Toast the walnuts in a dry frying pan over medium heat, shaking, until fragrant and lightly browned, 4–5 minutes. Cool. Set aside a few for the top. 5 min
Blend the peppers, walnuts, breadcrumbs, garlic, pomegranate molasses, lemon, Aleppo pepper, cumin and salt in a food processor until fairly smooth but with some texture.
With the motor running, drizzle in the olive oil. Taste: it should be sweet-sour, a little hot and well salted.
Spread on a plate, drizzle with olive oil and pomegranate molasses and top with the reserved walnuts. Serve with flatbread or alongside grilled meat.

Why it works

Charring and steaming the peppers makes their skins easy to remove and gives them a smoky sweetness. Breadcrumbs and walnuts give body, so the dip is thick and spreadable rather than runny. Pomegranate molasses adds a deep, fruity sourness that balances the sweet peppers.

Common mistakes

Burning the walnuts: they turn bitter in seconds. Watch them.
Leaving it too smooth: muhammara should have a little texture.

Variations

Gluten-free: Replace the breadcrumbs with 30 g extra walnuts; the dip will be slightly looser and richer.

Make ahead and storage

Keeps 5 days in the fridge; the flavor improves after a day.