muhammara (red bell pepper dip)

Corrections made are in bold within the body of the article.

I had first heard of this dish through the blog Doves Eye View whose author Leila, has since sadly passed away. She had written that she had tasted it in a restaurant and was trying to piece the exact recipe together. She mentioned some ingredients: roasted bell peppers, burgul, pomegranate syrup, walnuts. We talked breifly about it via email and she promised to get back to me if she ever figured it out. I was not content to wait and by the time I figured it out on my own, she was gone.

Most of the information I found on this recipe does not ask for burgul (cracked wheat), but for two slices of bread instead. This does not sound appealing to me, despite the possible authenticity.  I found a few asking for lemon and tahini. Again, not sure I want the taste of hummus in a bell pepper spread. Leila described something different (or my imagination latched onto something different). Personally, I actually find red bell peppers to be tart enough as they are. So I dropped lemons and I dropped tahini.

This is what I came up with (based on all the recipes I read):

2 large roasted red bell peppers

1 cup walnuts

2 Tbsp. pomegranate syrup

2 cloves of garlic (or more)

1/4 cup cooked burgul

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili paste  (dried flakes are fine)

salt and pepper to taste

1 scant Tbsp tomato paste

The first time I made it, I eliminated the tomato paste and got an ugly color, so I added it back in, just enough to give a nice orange to the dish. You can add more if you wish. While cooking the burgul, roast your bell peppers. I do this on the stove burners. If you buy roasted peppers, make sure they are not pickled in brine!

Once the burgul is  cool enough to handle and you have removed the charred skin of your bell peppers, place all ingredients in a food processor and blend on high until you have a spreadable paste. If you used burgul, you will not be able to pulverize it to the point of smoothness.

If you find that your muhammara is not as thick as you would like, add more burgul and walnuts.

Serve on a plate drizzled with olive oil. This dish is another appetizer that would be great for a mezza with other foods, has been wonderful as  a sandwich spread (try it over grilled eggplant and portobello mushroom)  and I have adapted leftovers  by watering it down with just a bit of vegetable broth and cream to be served over pasta. I think too that any leftovers would work very well to make a flavored cream cheese.

Tonight, the kids and I are having it with olives, french bread, cucumber, onion, tomato and mint salad. Just something simple and quick.