Muhammara (Walnut & Red Pepper Dip)
Smoky roasted red peppers, toasted walnuts and tangy pomegranate molasses come together in this addictive Antep-style meze that disappears faster than you can toast the bread.
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Ingredients
150g walnut kernels, lightly toasted
3 large red peppers, roasted and peeled (or 300g jarred roasted red peppers, drained)
1 tbsp Turkish hot pepper paste (biber salcasi)
2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve
50g (about 5 tbsp) dry breadcrumbs
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp red pepper flakes (pul biber), plus a pinch to garnish
1 small garlic clove, crushed
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
A few whole walnut halves, to garnish
Instructions
- 1
If roasting your own peppers, grill them at 220C, turning occasionally, for about 15 minutes until the skins are blackened; steam in a covered bowl for 10 minutes, then peel, deseed and drain well.
- 2
Toast the walnuts in a dry pan over medium heat for 3-4 minutes until fragrant, then let them cool completely.
- 3
Put the walnuts in a food processor and pulse a few times until coarsely ground — stop before they turn into a paste.
- 4
Add the roasted peppers, pepper paste, pomegranate molasses, garlic, cumin, pepper flakes, lemon juice and salt, and pulse in short bursts until combined but still slightly coarse.
- 5
Add the breadcrumbs and olive oil and pulse two or three more times; the dip should hold its shape on a spoon.
- 6
Taste and adjust — more pomegranate molasses for tang, more pepper flakes for heat, more salt if needed.
- 7
Chill for at least 30 minutes so the flavours settle and the breadcrumbs absorb the juices.
- 8
Spread onto a plate, swirl the surface with the back of a spoon, drizzle generously with olive oil and finish with walnut halves and a pinch of pul biber.
- 9
Serve at room temperature with warm pita or fresh bread.
Muhammara is the pride of southeastern Turkey, especially Gaziantep and Hatay, where it appears on every meze table alongside hummus and haydari. The name comes from the Arabic word for "reddened", and one look at its brick-red colour tells you why. The magic is in the balance: sweet roasted peppers, bitter-rich walnuts, fruity olive oil and that unmistakable sour edge of pomegranate molasses.
The traditional method uses fire-roasted red capia peppers, but a jar of ready-roasted peppers works brilliantly on a busy UK weeknight and cuts the cooking time to almost nothing. If you roast your own, char them under a hot grill until the skins blister, then steam them in a covered bowl before peeling. Either way, drain the peppers well — watery peppers make watery muhammara.
A word on texture: muhammara should be spoonable but never smooth like hummus. Pulse the food processor in short bursts and stop while you can still see flecks of walnut. If the mixture feels loose, an extra spoonful of breadcrumbs tightens it up within ten minutes as they absorb the juices.
Serve it at room temperature with warm pita, drizzled with olive oil and a few whole walnuts on top. Every ingredient below, from Antep walnuts to real pomegranate molasses, is available at Turkish Online Market with UK-wide delivery.
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