This is part of the ongoing Das Tor series “Global Eats,” in which T-birds share cooking stories and recipes unique to their culture or travels around the globe. Global Eats is currently having a cooking competition, collecting recipes from around the world. To submit your recipe before the 9 February 2022 deadline and get a chance to film it live in ASU’s Multicultural Center, click here.
A new semester starts, a new year abounds, and then there’s the plain old me bringing you another recipe to keep you fit, healthy, and full!
With all the rush from the classes, activities, and of course, the amazing GCL, eating and cooking take a backseat. We forget to eat or miss meals, and that’s why I want to bring a recipe from around the world, somewhere I would like to visit, Turkey.
Muhammara is a spicy dip made out of walnuts, breadcrumbs, and some lovely red bell peppers. You can eat this dip with a slice of loaf bread, pita bread, or even some warmed up tortillas! The versatility and the shelf life is why it needs to become a staple for us folks who are always out and about.
So, without further ado, here’s the recipe:
Ingredient list:
- 2 medium red bell peppers
- 4 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- ¼ lb shelled toasted walnuts
- 1 garlic clove roughly chopped
- 2 ½ tablespoon tomato paste
- ¾ cup bread crumbs
- 1 ½ White wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper
- ½ teaspoon sugar (you can substitute it for honey as well!)
- 2 teaspoon red chilli powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper/black pepper (optional)
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. While the oven is heating up, brush the bell peppers with olive oil and place them in an oven-safe pan. Roast the peppers for about 30 minutes, turning them occasionally to see the slight charring on the skin of the peppers. You will smell the beautiful peppers roasting during that time.
- Remove the pan from the oven and put the peppers in a bowl. You can let them cool down a little bit before you start peeling the skin of peppers and removing the seeds. After that, slice the peppers into small pieces.
- Now, in a large food processor, combine the small roasted peppers pieces, your leftover olive oil, walnuts, tomato paste, bread crumbles, white wine vinegar, sugar, salt, red chilli powder, Aleppo pepper, and cayenne.
- Blend them into a smooth paste. You don’t want the dip to be watery but have a thick consistency. But if you think it’s too thick, add a tablespoon of tomato paste, and that should work wonders!
- After blending it to a thick consistency, transfer the Muhammara into a serving bowl. You can serve it warm with some additional walnut toppings and cilantro with a drizzle of oil. You also can serve it alongside pita bread or a loaf of bread. Enjoy!
Note: You can store this dip in the fridge for up to a week, and one batch like this lasts you a good time as well. I hope you enjoy this recipe or it tingles your tastebuds to try more global recipes like this!