Muhammara is a wonderful thick Middle Eastern dip made of toasted walnuts and roasted peppers.Julie Van Rosendaal/The Globe and Mail
While in early fall our appetites tend to be focused on tomatoes and zucchini, this is the time of year farmers’ markets overflow with peppers and chilies of all kinds. Far beyond the red, green, yellow and orange bells we see year-round in grocery stores, peppers come in a plethora of shapes and sizes, in shades from the usual reds and greens to purple-blue, butter yellow and white.
It’s alright if you can’t identify them by name – all you need to know is whether they are sweet or hot, which you can often do by asking … and always by tasting. All peppers are capsicums, but some are hot, some are not. Generally speaking, the smaller the chili pepper the hotter it is – and removing the seeds and membranes will tame their heat somewhat.
Small chili peppers can be frozen and are easy to toss whole into a stir-fry or chop straight from the freezer. Or you can grate meatier ones, such as jalapeños, over anything that needs a bit of heat – it will shave off into fluffy, spicy snow, and melt on top of eggs or anything you might drizzle hot sauce over, or into marinades, sauces and even cocktails.
Roasting and freezing larger sweet peppers while they’re plentiful, local and more affordable is a great way to preserve them through the winter. (Roasted pimentos work perfectly in pimento cheese, and will save you having to find little jars of them in the pickle aisle.) It’s easy to do on a hot grill: turn whole peppers as they char and blister, then transfer to a bowl and cover (with a plate, baking sheet or some foil) so they steam before they cool. Peel the skin off with your fingers, pull out and compost the cores and seeds, and freeze the peppers along with any juices that have accumulated in the bottom of the bowl. Having been cooked, the silky-soft peppers will have already broken down, and will maintain their texture when they thaw.
Muhammara
Longer ago than I can remember, I fell in love with muhammara, a wonderful thick Middle Eastern dip made of toasted walnuts and roasted peppers, at Aida’s, an iconic Lebanese eatery in Calgary. While I’ve never succeeded in replicating Aida’s coveted secret recipe, I did eventually get some tips from her daughter, who advised I add ingredients I hadn’t yet considered – a hefty spoonful of red-pepper paste (the sweet kind that resembles tomato paste), and a chunk of raw onion – “more than you think.” The result was transformative, at least in terms of making mine more like the version I loved so much.
- 1 cup walnut halves, toasted and chopped (save one whole for garnish)
- 3-4 roasted red peppers
- 1/2 small onion, chopped
- 1/4 cup pepper paste (sweet, not hot – similar to tomato paste – or use about half as much tomato paste)
- 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses, or to taste
- 1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- Aleppo pepper or other red-pepper flakes, to taste
- salt, to taste
- 1/2 cup (ish) olive oil
In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the walnuts, red peppers, onion, pepper paste, pomegranate molasses, garlic, cumin, pepper flakes and salt until well-blended. With the motor running, pour the olive oil through the feed tube until the mixture lightens and loosens to the consistency you like. Taste and adjust the salt and other ingredients, if needed.
If you have time, refrigerate the muhammara overnight to allow the flavours to develop. Spread in a shallow bowl, top with a drizzle of olive oil and a walnut half, and serve with pitas or anything you like.
Serves about four.