Roasted Bell Pepper and Almond Dip -Muhammarra
One of my hits this holiday season is this lovely vibrant dip. Inspired by the Syrian Muhammara, I have created a very flavorful and table friendly dip. Roasted Bell Peppers and Almonds, how can you go wrong? Leaving out the traditional bread crumbs, makes the dip lighter and also has the bonus effect of keeping it gluten-free. Typically done with red bell peppers, I have had good results with yellow bell peppers too!
Just the color seems different. Since I like the orange hue, I often mix up the colors. So, the dip that is pictured is a mixture of red and yellow bell peppers. I am a little crazy that way. The pale orange ones are just with red bell peppers.
Air fryer for roasting the peppers in Muhammara
Now, the fun fact here is that, I now use an air-fryer to roast the bell peppers. It is much quicker and does not tie up my oven. I recently made this for a smallish party, everyone loved it so much many folks wanted the recipe.
The easiest thing for me for such things is to post the recipe on the blog, this allows me to share it and track it. Actually, most importantly it is motivation for me to test the recipe until I am sure that it works. One may wonder, why it even matters for a such a simple recipe. However, as they say, the devil is in the details.
Some tips and tips for the perfect flavor
In the case of this dip, it took me a little time to find the right balance of smoky and sweet. Do not mess with the pomegranate molasses in this recipe, I think it makes a world of difference. The rest of the ingredients all come together. At the rate, this disappeared on our table, I strongly suggest serving this with some large crackers. One of our favorites is the Trader Joe’s Pita Crackers.
If you do not have an air-fryer use a sheet pan to roast the peppers. Proceed with the rest of the recipe as usual. Bell peppers are a very well used and popular in my household. Some of my favorite recipes include Roasted Tomato and Bell Pepper Pasta and Shrimp Curry with Bell Peppers.
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A savory and tangy dip that is very luscious and satisfying. Perfect with toasted bread, creackers or cruidites.
Ingredients
- 2 red or orange bell peppers, or a combination
- 3 to 4 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
- 2 plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon red cayenne pepper
- 1/4 cup ground almonds (homemade or almond meal)
- 1 tablespoon pomegranate mollases
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 8 to 10 mint leaves
- Pine nuts or sliverred almonds to garnish
Instructions
- Coarsely chop the bell peppers, removing seeds and pith.
- Place on the airy fryer basket.
- Toass with the chopped garlic. Drizzle with the olive oil.
- Set to 475 and cook for 10 minutes. turn and cook for another 5 minutes. You should see the peppers very wiltted and charring at spots. The garlic should be very brown.
- Carerfully remove and place in the base of a food processor.
- Add the cayenne pepper, ground almonds, pomegranate mollases, ground cumin, salt, and mint leaves.
- Run the food processor, scaping and mixing well until a good paste is formed. If needed you can add in a little water.
- Place in a serving bowl. Drizzle with the extra olive oil. Garnish with extra almonds and pine nuts
Orit R
Looks amazing, but I’m confused about the cumin. Do we use seeds as well as ground cumin?