Muhammara. Cream of peppers with walnuts

How to make mhammara or muhammara from peppers.

A pepper-based cream originating in Aleppo (Syria), although it is not clear enough and some claim that it is Lebanese.

In Spain it is known thanks to Turkish cuisine where in the western regions it is called acuka .

In my opinion all these typical creams kitchen Arabic are addicting, and the like hummus chickpea or the Byessar or cream of beans  can be a great snack for an afternoon of football with friends or as an entree luxury in a dinner with family or friends.

Simple to prepare, with easy to get ingredients and, as they say when people come home, a bit exotic but with all the flavor of our land since we are all Mediterranean.

The fundamental ingredients for this sauce are found in almost all houses: fresh peppers, walnuts, breadcrumbs, extra virgin olive oil as well as the optional ones: garlic, salt, lemon juice, cumin and pomegranate juice (the latter a little more difficult to get if it is not season).

We can accompany it with bread snacks, salty toasts, warm pita bread, freshly baked naan bread or simply with some vegetables like the ones I present in the photo, celery and carrots.

I leave you with this recipe which is an adventure of flavor, freshness and texture in which all its ingredients belong to the purest Mediterranean gastronomic culture.

Preparation of the cream of peppers

1. For this recipe you can use fresh red peppers that you cook yourself or a pot of the roasted peppers that you like the most, including piquillo.
2. All we have to do is drain them well and add them to a blender glass.
3. We make juice with half a lemon, strain it in case there are any seeds and add it to the glass with the peppers.
4. Peel the garlic clove. I only prepare it with one but those who like it a lot can add more, just like with the gazpacho it goes for tastes. Chop the garlic well minced. We introduce it to the glass.
5. If you do not have breadcrumbs you can use normal bread, even the one that was hard from the previous day.
6. We lightly toast it in a pan with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil, two slices is enough. If we already have breadcrumbs it is as simple as adding it to the peppers.
7. We roast the walnuts in a frying pan without any oil, over low heat, stirring frequently until fragrant and lightly browned. About 5 minutes approximately.

Crush the cream and final presentation of the pepper muhammara

1. We place the remaining ingredients in the mixer glass with the strained lemon juice, walnuts, garlic, peppers, toasted or grated bread, ground cumin, a pinch of freshly ground black pepper, salt, virgin olive oil extra and if we have grenadine, two tablespoons.
2. We beat with the maximum power until we have a puree type cream but a little denser and we reserve in the fridge. Cold is much better.
3. If you have a food processor you can control the texture much better but I prefer how it works with the mixer.
4. There does not have to be a very fine cream. But if we see that it is very consistent we can add more aove, until the texture is more smooth.
5. To present it the best thing is to choose a flat and large plate, in this way we will share it among several.

We spread the cream of peppers and add a splash of extra virgin olive oil.

You can see all the step-by-step photos of this Syrian pepper cream recipe in this album.

Tips for a squash pepper cream

• If you use piquillo peppers, the cream has a different flavor than if you use them fresh, but it is no less delicious. For convenience, I usually prepare it with strips of roasted pepper with a touch of garlic that they already sell like this. It depends on the time of each one.
• It is a very versatile cream because it can be tuned to your liking by including an ingredient or just as you like at home.
• It is also an ideal cream for barbecues, it is perfect with grilled meats, white fish or sauce for a sandwich or sandwich.
• We can accompany it with normal bread, pita bread with a touch of oven (what works best for you), nachos, potato chips or raw vegetable sticks such as carrots, celery or cucumber. I leave it to your liking.
• As you can see it has no science, it is easy and fast to prepare, super healthy and nutritious.
• A dish that children love and that you can even prepare with them. I assure you that in barbecues it is always a success, because it does not even paint a piece of pork rib or a good piece of beef steak.