About this Dish
Syria's extraordinary roasted pepper and walnut dip — blended from charred red peppers, walnuts, pomegranate molasses, olive oil and Aleppo pepper. The Aleppo pepper — a mild, fruity, oily chilli from northern Syria — is irreplaceable. Served as a mezze alongside hummus and baba ghanoush. Muhammara is one of the most complex and beautiful dips in world cuisine.
IngredientsServes 4
🫑Red bell peppers, 4 large
🌶️Aleppo pepper flakes, 2 tablespoons (do not substitute)
🌰Walnuts, 150g lightly toasted
🍋Pomegranate molasses, 3 tablespoons
🍞Stale breadcrumbs, 50g (from day-old bread)
🧄Garlic, 2 cloves
🫒Extra virgin olive oil, 4 tablespoons plus extra to finish
🧂Salt, 1 teaspoon
🍋Lemon juice, 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed
Method
1
Char the red peppers directly over a gas flame or under a very hot grill, turning occasionally, until the skin is completely blackened all over — this takes about 10–15 minutes. Place them in a bowl, cover tightly with cling film and leave to steam for 20 minutes; this makes the skins easy to peel.2
Peel off all the charred skin, then tear open the peppers and remove the seeds and stalks. Don't rinse them under water — you want to keep all those smoky juices. Pat them gently with kitchen paper.3
Toast the walnuts in a dry frying pan over a medium heat for 3–4 minutes, shaking often, until fragrant and lightly golden. Watch them carefully as they burn quickly. Tip them onto a plate and allow to cool.4
Add the roasted peppers, toasted walnuts, breadcrumbs, garlic, Aleppo pepper, pomegranate molasses, lemon juice and salt to a food processor. Pulse everything together — you want a rough, textured paste, not a smooth purée. Taste as you go; muhammara should have body and bite.5
With the processor running, drizzle in the olive oil slowly until the dip comes together into a rich, scoopable consistency. Taste and adjust — add more pomegranate molasses for sweetness, more Aleppo pepper for heat, or more lemon for brightness.6
Spread into a wide shallow bowl, swirling the surface with the back of a spoon. Drizzle generously with your best olive oil, scatter over a pinch of Aleppo pepper flakes and a few roughly broken walnuts. Serve at room temperature as part of a mezze spread with warm flatbread.User Reviews
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