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Muhammara is a roasted pepper dip that has origins in Lebanon and Syria. The recipe’s easy to make and full of flavor as it is made from fresh vegetables and a lot of condiments. You will only need to roast some fresh vegetables and you will have an amazing dish full of flavors.
To obtain a tasty muhammara dip, try to use good quality ingredients, so buy the vegetables for this recipe from a good source. Try your local market or even a local supermarket which is known for good quality vegetables.
This muhammara works great as an appetizer together with our confit garlic hummus recipe.
Ingredients and steps for muhammara
There are different versions of muhammara on the internet each adding or changing some ingredients. You can play with the ingredients to suit your taste better. For us, this muhammara recipe proved to be the best.
The vegetables that you will need for this are 5 red bell peppers, 1 white onion, 2 tomatoes (I use Roma tomatoes), and 1 red chili. The bell peppers should be halved, cored, and seeded. For the tomatoes and the chili, remove the stem and cut it in half. Peel the onion and chop it into 3-4 pieces.
The first step in the muhammara recipe will be to roast the vegetables. Preheat the oven to 220 deg. C / 425 deg. F. Add the vegetables to a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle with olive oil, salt, and a lot of black pepper. Add the tray into the oven for 20 minutes.
In the meantime, we can prepare the other ingredients of the muhammara. Let’s start with the tomato sauce. Add in a small frying pan 1 tbs. of olive oil and 2 tbs. of tomato paste. Place the pan on medium heat and cook for around 8 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the tomato paste is deep red and caramelized. Transfer it to a bowl and leave it aside for the moment.
Condiments for muhammara
In a clean pan, add 2 tsp of each coriander and cumin seeds. Place it on the stove on medium heat and mix the condiments from time to time. After 2 minutes you will start hearing some popping noise. This will tell you that the condiments are ready. Transfer them into a mortar and smash them with the pestle. You will smell the nice flavor of these roasted condiments and steam will go out from the mortar when you will smash them. You will love this process. The condiments prepared in this way will give some nice flavors to the muhammara dip.
After 20 minutes passed, remove the tray with the vegetables and mix them lightly. Add 8 cloves of garlic (peeled) and place the tray back into the oven for another 20 minutes. Take this time to roast some walnuts. Add 100 grams (3,5 oz) of walnuts into a frying pan on medium heat and roast them for 5 – 8 minutes mixing them from time to time. After this time let them aside to cool down.
Muhammara recipe
When all the ingredients are ready, the muhammara recipe is pretty simple. After the vegetables are done, take out the skin from the tomatoes and the peppers. Don’t worry if you cannot remove all of it, just do your best to take out as much as possible. You can do this operation directly in the tray, no need to use a different dish for this. Then, add all the prepared ingredients, roasted vegetables, walnuts, condiments, and caramelized tomato paste into a food processor. Blitz a few times and then add 1 tbs. of pomegranate molasses, pepper, and salt to taste. Blitz again into a coarse paste. Add 100 grams (3,5 oz) of pomegranate seeds and mix them into the paste. Mix them by hand not with the food processor. The pomegranate molasses and seeds will give some sweetness to the dish. Now, the muhammara it’s ready!
How to plate your muhammara
Due to the colors and texture of the muhammara, it will be easy to have a nice presentation for it. Use a nice, serving plate (round or elongated) and add the muhammara to it. Make a small dip in the middle. Now, add pomegranate seeds and fresh parsley. On top of the muhammara, you can drizzle some olive oil and some pomegranate molasses.
The muhammara is ready to be served! Enjoy!
How to make pomegranate molasses for muhammara
If you cannot find pomegranate molasses for this muhammara recipe, don’t be discouraged. You can make it by yourself easily. Just buy a natural pomegranate juice, add it to a pot and place it on medium heat. Shortly the water will start to evaporate and you will remain with a thick pomegranate concentrate. Use a part of it for the muhammara recipe, but put apart at least a spoon for the final drizzle.
Muhammara
Yield:
6
Prep Time:
10 minutes
Cook Time:
40 minutes
Additional Time:
10 minutes
Total Time:
1 hour
Muhammara is an amazing roasted pepper dip. Having its origins in Lebanon and Syria, this dish will impress you with its flavors and textures. You will only need fresh vegetables and condiments to obtain a fantastic dish.
Ingredients
- 5 red bell peppers
- 1 white onion
- 2 tomatoes
- 1 red chili
- 2 tbs. tomato paste
- 2 tsp. coriander seeds
- 2 tsp. cumin seeds
- 8 cloves of garlic
- 100 grams of walnuts (3,5 oz)
- 100 grams pomegranate seeds (3,5 oz)
- 1 tbs. pomegranate seeds (for serving)
- 1 cup pomegranate molasses
- 5 tbs. olive oil
- 1 tbs. fresh parsley (chopped)
- salt
- ground black pepper
Instructions
Prepare the vegetables
- Wash all the vegetables;
- Cut the bell peppers into half, core, and seed them;
- Cut the tomatoes into half, and take out the stem;
- Cut the red chili into half and remove the stem;
- Peel the onion and cut it into 4 pieces;
- Peel the garlic cloves;
- Preheat the oven at 425 F / 220 C;
- Place all the vegetables, except the garlic, into a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and 3 tbs. of olive oil.
- Place the tray into the oven to start roasting the vegetables for 20 minutes;
- After the 20 minutes passed, take the tray out and slightly mix the vegetables. Add also the garlic into the baking tray and place it back into the oven for another 20 minutes.
- When the time it's over, take it out and let the vegetables cool down. When they are cold enough to handle, try to take out the skin of the peppers and tomatoes. Remove as much as possible, but don't worry if you cannot totally remove it.
Prepare the condiments
- In a frying pan add 2 tbs. of tomato paste and 1 tbs. of olive oil. Place it over medium heat and cook it for 8 minutes. Stir it from time to time. It is ready when the tomato paste has a dark red color and is caramelized. Transfer it to a bowl and set it aside;
- In a clean pan, add the coriander and cumin seeds. Place the pan over medium heat and stir the seeds from time to time. In about two minutes they will start popping. This is the time to transfer them into a mortar and smash them with the pestle;
- Add the walnuts into a pan and roast them on medium heat for 5-8 minutes, mixing them from time to time.
Prepare and plate the muhammara
- Add all the prepared ingredient into a food processor;
- Blitz them 2-3 times. Add the pomegranate molasses, salt, and pepper to taste.
- Blitz again into a coarse paste.
- Add the pomegranate seeds and mix them into the paste.
- Transfer the muhammara to a serving plate. Make a dip into the center and then add the remaining pomegranate seeds and the chopped parsley.
- Sprinkle the muhammara with the remaining olive oil and with pomegranate molasses.
- Enjoy it!
Notes
To reduce the preparation and cooking time you can prepare the condiments while the vegetables are roasting into the oven.
To obtain a muhammara with full flavor, you should roast and smash your condiments as described in the recipe.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 532Total Fat: 29gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 22gCholesterol: 17mgSodium: 460mgCarbohydrates: 63gFiber: 6gSugar: 48gProtein: 11g
Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.
Do you love to cook with seasonal fruits and vegetables? Please share your experience with us, comment below, or tag @basilbunch.blog on Instagram and hashtag it #basilbunchblog. We would love to see your creation!
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