Muhammara (Syrian Red Pepper Dip)

February 17, 2017

This gluten-absolutely free muhammara is a delicious, minimal body fat Center Eastern dip that’s filled with tangy and sweet flavors. Perfect for snacking or for gatherings!

Food has the electric power to unite people today, people and communities.
– Jamie Oliver

One particular of the massive causes why I love cooking is mainly because it is my window into one more culture. I may well not be fortuitous adequate to travel everywhere on my bucket listing, but at the pretty least, I can get a perception of one more nation, of one more society, by means of food items.

In light of current occasions, I picked up the #CookForSyria Recipe Book (thanks to Lily’s suggestion). My purpose was pretty uncomplicated: to find out a lot more about a country that is typically talked over in the media, but whose culture we typically misunderstand. The cookbook is a collection of recipes that are made by prime British chefs and influencers and motivated by Syrian cuisine. Website page after webpage, the e book is loaded with mouthwatering recipes. The best section of the e book is that all the proceeds go to UNICEF’s humanitarian attempts in Syria!

As I flipped by means of the cookbook, Yotam Ottolenghi’s muhammara caught my eye. It was a single of my favourite dips that I purchased at the San Mateo farmer’s market place, again when I still lived in the Bay Region. I produced a couple modifications to the first recipe, the most significant a single getting the preparing strategy. Ottolenghi’s recipe instructed me to pound the bell peppers into a paste with a pestle and mortar, and I absolutely did not have the persistence for that! The food items processor does a superb position at mixing all the ingredients, so let’s just leave it at that. I also assumed that the dip could use a minimal a lot more tanginess, so I included a splash of balsamic vinegar to the dip.

I have appreciated the muhammara as a snack with carrots and crackers and employed it as a paste to flavor leftover cooked millet. The dip is unbelievably multipurpose!

MASTERING MY Problems / COOKING NOTES

• Roasting the bell peppers: You will want a fuel oven in buy to roast the peppers in the oven so that the pores and skin blackens. I’ve experimented with roasting them in an electric oven in advance of and it did not get the job done, even after I caught every little thing below the broiler. If you just can't roast bell peppers simply, I propose obtaining jarred roasted bell peppers. You’ll want about one one/two cups of it.


• Substitutions: The first recipe makes use of a couple ingredients that are no uncomplicated to come across at a conventional grocery keep. One particular of them is pomegranate molasses. You can follow my recipe to make your very own or you can substitute the molasses with two teaspoons of honey and two teaspoons of balsamic vinegar (in addition to the balsamic vinegar which is presently in the recipe). Yet another difficult-to-come across ingredient is aleppo pepper. I employed one/two tablespoon of red pepper flakes rather and it tasted wonderful. You can increase a lot more pepper flakes if you want a lot more warmth.

Muhammara

Prep ten mins

Cook dinner 35 mins

Inactive forty mins

Overall one hour, twenty five mins

Creator Lisa Lin

Generate 6 servings

This muhammara is wonderful as a dip or served with rice or your favourite grains. I also like smearing it inside of my sandwiches or wraps. 

You will want to use a fuel oven in buy to blacken the peppers inside of the oven. Yet another possibility is to use jarred roasted red peppers, about one one/two cups complete. 

Substances

• 3 medium red bell peppers
• one/two cup gluten-absolutely free breadcrumbs*
• one clove of garlic
• two teaspoons lemon juice 
• one/two tablespoon pomegranate molasses
• one one/two teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• one/two teaspoon salt
• one/two tablespoon red pepper flakes
• one teaspoon cumin
• one tablespoon olive oil, moreover a lot more for drizzling 
• one/3 cup walnut halves, finely chopped

Optional Toppings

• chopped parsley
• lemon zest
• freshly floor black pepper

Guidelines

1. Preheat the oven to four hundred levels F (two hundred levels C) and situation an oven rack to the middle situation. Line a baking sheet pan with foil. 
2. Set the bell peppers on the sheet pan and bake for thirty to 35 minutes, turning occasionally, till the outer pores and skin is blackened. At the time the peppers are roasted, transfer them to a warmth-protected bowl and deal with it with plastic wrap. Let the peppers sit for about thirty minutes. At the time the peppers are cool adequate to take care of, eliminate the pores and skin, stem, seeds and ribs. 
3. Increase the peppers, breadcrumbs, garlic, lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, vinegar, salt, red pepper flakes, cumin and olive oil into the bowl of a food items processor. Blend every little thing till smooth. Style and adjust the seasonings to your liking. Vacant the red pepper mixture into a bowl. 
4. Stir in the chopped walnuts, preserving one or two tablespoons for topping. Sprinkle the relaxation of the chopped walnuts, parsley, lemon zest and black pepper on prime of the muhammara. Drizzle with a little little bit of olive oil. Serve quickly. The dip is best eaten inside 3 to 4 days.

Notes

Nutrition Information and facts: Would make about 6 Servings. Volume for every serving: Energy: 106, Overall Body fat 6g, Saturated Body fat: 1g, Sodium: 276mg, Cholesterol: 0mg, Overall Carbohydrate: 12g, Dietary Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 4g, Protein 2g

SUBSTITUTIONS: (one) If you are not able to come across gluten-absolutely free bread crumbs, just crush crackers till they turn into little crumbs. (two) If you do not have pomegranate molasses, you can substitute with two teaspoons of honey and two teaspoons of balsamic vinegar. 

 

Read More About Low Fat Recipes At NaturallyCurvy.com