Mhammara (Red Pepper and Walnut Dip)

We had some leftover kibbeh and beans for dinner tonight, but I felt like it needed something else to go with it. I debated a few different options, but decided to go with this simple dip in the end. It's very easy to throw together, especially if you already have a jar of roasted red bell peppers on hand. If not, it doesn't add much extra time or effort to roast them along with the chile before mixing up your dip.

I did end up slightly scaling back on the olive oil while bumping up the pomegranate molasses, but otherwise made my dip to spec. I used a jalapeño as my chile since I had a few left over in the fridge that really needed to be used, but a cayenne or Thai chile would probably be more appropriate. Feel free to experiment a bit with the exact type and number of chiles though.

Mhammara

Slightly adapted from Our Syria by Itab Azzam and Dina Mousawi

Ingredients

• 2 red bell peppers (or 200g of jarred roasted bell peppers)
• 1 chile (preferably cayenne or Thai)
• 80g walnuts, toasted
• 1-2 tsp. harissa
• 1 clove garlic
• 1-2 Tbsp. pomegranate molasses
• 2-3 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• flatbreads (and/or veggies and/or chips), to serve

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
2. Cut the peppers and chile in half and remove the cores and seeds.
3. Place on a baking sheet, skin-side-up, and drizzle with a small amount of olive oil and salt.
4. Roast in the oven until the peppers soften and the skin darkens (15-20 minutes).
5. Remove from oven and allow to stand until cool enough to handle.
6. Meanwhile, chop the toasted walnuts in a blender or food processor.
7. Once the peppers are cool enough to handle, remove skins if desired (optional), and add them to the blender with the nuts.
8. Add the harissa, garlic, pomegranate molasses, olive oil, salt, and pepper and blend until smooth.
9. Adjust seasonings to taste.
10. Serve with pita wedges (or whatever other dippers strike your fancy).