muhammara with pomegranate molasses
Muhammara, a mixture of red peppers, walnuts, a little leftover bread, is an altogether different dish with Zejd’s tangy pomegranate molasses. Much loved in the eastern Mediterranean, it’s easily put together in a food mixer and doesn’t require a long list of ingredients to make. Together with a bowl of olives, some labneh and bread, a few lettuce leaves or chicory to scoop up the muhammara, this is a sharing dish destined for entertaining!
There are many variations of this recipe, but we’ve based ours on one from Claudia Roden’s cookbook The Med. Her version uses a jar of red piquillo peppers, but it’s just as easy to make using ruby red Spanish peppers. Brush the outside of the skin with a bit of Zejd’s extra virgin olive oil before roasting until the skin is charred. When ready, putting the peppers in a bowl straight from the oven and covering with cling film helps with removing the skin. Peel off what you can, and deseed them before you put them in the mixer.
We’ve made muhammara with a supermarket brand of pomegranate molasses, which had added sugar, and the dish lacked the much needed acidity. Since red peppers are naturally sweet, tartness is key. Zejd’s pomegranate molasses is made from a sour variety of pomegranates, used for cooking rather than eating. There’s no added sugar or flavouring, and when the juice is reduced it remains tart. This is what you need to offset the sweetness of the peppers.
ingredients
320g jar red piquillo peppers
or
4 large Spanish red peppers, brushed with Zejd’s EVOO and baked in a hot oven (200 degrees C) for 25 minutes until the skin has begun to char; peel & seed before adding to the mixer.
100g walnut halves, lightly toasted in the oven and chopped
1 slice of wholemeal bread (30g) crusts removed and broken into pieces
2 garlic cloves crushed
1 – 2 tbsp Zejd’s pomegranate molasses (taste and add depending on the sweetness of the peppers)
juice of 1/2 lemon
3-4 tbsp Zejd extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp Aleppo pepper (or other hot chilli pepper)
1/2 tsp cumin, seeds lightly toasted and ground in a pestle and mortar
salt to taste
method
- Drain the peppers well using a sieve, as you don’t want extra liquid. If roasting red peppers, try to get most of the skin off and remove seeds.
- Add the peppers to a food processor along with all the remaining ingredients.
- Pulse until you get the desired texture, we prefer it coarse. Taste and add more pomegranate molasses or salt if need be.
- Spread the muhammara in a serving dish, and drizzle a bit of pomegranate molasses over the top in a zig zag.
If you can find Lebanese bread, try splitting them and then cutting them into segments. Bake in a hot over, 200 degrees, for 8 minutes or so until lightly golden. They become like “melba toast” and are great for dipping into muhammara. You could always use little gem lettuce leaves or radicchio as a refreshing dipping tool!