I’ve been looking for dairy alternatives. I make a lot of dishes where I want to add a dollop of sour cream or sprinkle a little extra cheese on top. However, I’ve been going a little overboard with this lately! So, I’m trying to broaden my horizons. My go-to dairy alternative is cashews. I make a lot of cashew dips and “cheese.” However, being out of cashews and endeavoring to discover something a little bit bolder, I turned to my new industrial-sized bag of walnuts.
I’d never made a dip out of walnuts before, but the concept seemed fairly straightforward. The gist of most recipes appeared to be: toast walnuts and blend in a food processor. This was also beneficial because cashews typically need to soak overnight. Not having to soak or do much preparatory work was ideal.
The most common recipe that I came up with off the bat was Muhammara. Muhammara is a Middle Eastern recipe that is similar to a baba ghanoush or hummus. It’s made by blending roasted red peppers and toasted walnuts and tends to pair well with pita, chicken, or fish. There are a couple of ingredients that I didn’t have on hand, like Aleppo peppers and pomegranate molasses. However, there were some easy alternatives to these that I had readily available around the house.
I ended up looking at probably half a dozen recipes, picking and choosing the things that I thought were traditionally necessary as well as the things that I tend to cater my tastes around.
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Overall, I’m very happy with this recipe and will definitely endeavor to make it again!
Muhammara is traditionally made in Aleppo, Syria with Aleppo peppers. I've swapped out more easily found habaneros.
I think that next time I might experiment with omitting breadcrumbs. But this was a great find! I had a lot of fun making it and am glad to add it to my repertoire.
Variations of Muhammara Dip
If you're not sure what to eat with it or are looking for a little bit more inspiration, here are some other recipes that I've used with Muhammara or in the similar realm of Muhammara.
Muhammara is a Middle Eastern dip made out of roasted red peppers and toasted walnuts. It originated in Aleppo, Syria and traditionally utilizes Aleppo peppers (similar spice level to a serrano). It's similar to baba ghanoush or hummus and pairs well with pita, chicken, and fish. This recipe combines red bell peppers, walnuts, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, bread crumbs, and homegrown cherry tomatoes and habaneros.
2tsp.lemonsjuiced (2 tbsp. pomegranate molasses are more traditional)
dashsalt
dashpepper
1/2c.bread crumbs
Instructions
Roast Bell Peppers
Roast the bell peppers whole. I did this in an air fryer at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, rotating occasionally. You can also do this in the oven on broil, on the stove on high, or on the BBQ. All of these methods take about 10-20 minutes. Just cook until the outside is charred and the skin begins to separate.
Let cool, remove the skin, devein, and deseed. This doesn’t have to be exact because it’s going into a food processor, but removing the excess will help the texture.
Toast Walnuts
While the peppers are roasting, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the walnuts on a baking sheet. Bake for 8-12 minutes, or until the walnuts begin to toast. Unlike lighter nuts, they won’t drastically change color while roasting, so make sure not to cook them too long.
Puree the Dip
Add the walnuts, garlic, tomatoes, pepper(s), olive oil, lemon juice, and pepper to a food processor. Process until smooth, scraping the sides occasionally.
Add bread crumbs and bell peppers. Pulse until the desired consistency is reached.
Serve immediately or refrigerate for future use.
Tips, Tricks, & Notes
I like to roast a little bit more nuts so that I have some extra in the end to adjust the taste and/or use for decoration as a kind of garnish the side.
If you want a thinner consistency, you can puree all of the ingredients together at once and add more olive oil. If you puree it too much and want a thicker consistency, add more walnuts and/or bread crumbs.
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