If I could eat only Middle Eastern dips for the rest of my life, just give me some pita bread to go with it and I will be content.
Today I present you with a delicious, spicy red pepper dip called, Mohammara. It originates from a city in Syria called Aleppo, where Aleppo pepper was also created. We Syrians are all about our spices as you can tell!
The reason why this dip is called Mohammara, is because it's the color "ahmar" or red in Arabic. What makes Mohammara so special is also the unique ingredients in it: walnuts, bread, pomegranate molasses, hot pepper paste, and of course, red bell peppers.
This is such a versatile dip, you can use it as a dip, as a base of a sandwich, or even on top of a salad as a dressing. All in all, this is one of my absolute favorite dips, and if you've never tried it, then I highly recommend.
Make it for a summer BBQ and you're going to impress everyone there. So, let's get to the recipe shall we?
Yields: 2-6 people (depends)
Prep time: 20 minutes (for the peppers to roast)
Total time: 25 minutes
This recipe is dairy free, vegetarian, and vegan.
Ingredients:
1. 1 piece of sourdough bread
2. 1 cup of walnuts
3. ½ pearl onion
4. 2 red bell peppers
5. 2 TBSPS extra virgin olive oil
6. 1 TBSP hot pepper paste
7. 1 ½ TSPs pomegranate molasses
8. 1 TBSP tahini
9. ¼ TSP dried cilantro
10. ¼ TSP cumin
11. ¼ TSP sea salt
12. Pita bread to dip
Instructions:
1. First, preheat your oven to 400 and roast 2 red bell peppers for up to 20 minutes, don't let it burn, but allow it to toast well. When they're done, gently remove the tops and seeds.
2. While you're waiting for this, chop 1/2 a pearl onion and leave it to the side.
3. Have all of your ingredients beside you and grab a food processor or powerful blender. I use the NuWave Infinity Blender and it is truly incredible!
4. In the food processor or blender add in ingredients 1-11 but leave the extra virgin olive oil for last.
5. Pour in the olive oil and blend.
6. You're going to want to use a spoon to tamper the mixture and make sure everything is being blended well. Add more olive oil if you think the dip is too dry.
7. It should be at a perfect, thick consistency. It's not as smooth as hummus would be.
8. Serve with pita bread and enjoy!
Xoxo,