Muhammara Roasted Red Pepper & Walnut Dip
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.
Equipment
- Oven, Stove, BBQ, or Air Fryer
- Food Processor
Ingredients
- 2 red bell peppers roasted
- 1 ½ c. walnuts toasted
- 2 cloves garlic
- ~10 cherry tomatoes
- 2 habaneros (Aleppo are more traditional)
- 3 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 tsp. lemons juiced (2 tbsp. pomegranate molasses are more traditional)
- dash salt
- dash pepper
- 1/2 c. 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.