Muhammara: roasted pepper and walnut dip

Name: Muhammara: roasted pepper and walnut dip
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 3 Peppers, red ones; 100 g Walnuts; 40 g Breadcrumbs; 20 ml Pomegranate molasses; 0.5 Lemons, juiced; 0.1 Garlic, 1 clove, crushed; 2 g Ground cumin; 1 g Dried chilli flakes, or Aleppo pepper if you have it; 40 ml Olive oil, plus extra to drizzle; 3 g Salt; 4 Pitta breads

A sweet, smoky and gently warming dip of roasted red peppers, walnuts and pomegranate molasses, loved across Turkey and Syria. It sits beautifully next to hummus and warm flatbreads. Contains walnuts.

Ingredients

3 Peppers, red ones
100 g Walnuts
40 g Breadcrumbs
20 ml Pomegranate molasses
0.5 Lemons, juiced
0.1 Garlic, 1 clove, crushed
2 g Ground cumin
1 g Dried chilli flakes, or Aleppo pepper if you have it
40 ml Olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
3 g Salt
4 Pitta breads

Method

Heat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan). Roast the whole peppers on a tray, turning once, until the skins are blackened and blistered.
Put the hot peppers in a bowl, cover with a plate and leave them to steam. Then peel off the skins and pull out the seeds and stalks.
Meanwhile, toast the walnuts in a dry frying pan over a medium heat, shaking often, until they smell nutty. Keep a couple back to crumble on top.
Blitz the peppers, walnuts, breadcrumbs, pomegranate molasses, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, chilli and salt in a food processor to a coarse paste. With the motor running, pour in the olive oil. Taste: it should be sweet, sharp and a little warm.
Spoon into a bowl, drizzle with olive oil, crumble over the saved walnuts and serve with warm pitta.