Roasted pepper muhammara.

Simple, vegan, and mostly made from things you could have sitting in your pantry these meze dishes are the perfect back pocket crowd-pleaser for any occasion. 

This red pepper muhammara is part of a trio of recipes that was inspired by our team “golden hour” aperitivos that we started doing once a week in celebration of long summer days. Fern Speakman on our team brought in these recipes, and they were such a hit. Simple, vegan, and mostly made from things you could have sitting in your pantry—it inspired a trio of levantine flavours for a meze that could be as useful in the depths of “the hunger gap” when fresh ingredients are lacking, as well as in the height of summer’s vibrant bounty when you just want to mix up something that doesn’t require heat!

Here's the method: 

• Toast your walnuts in a frying pan, gently moving them every few seconds so as not to burn.
• Set a few aside for your topping. 
• Blend all ingredients in a blender and adjust the following to taste.
• Top with some chilli flakes, your toasted walnuts and extra virgin olive oil. 

Top tips

Too sweet? Add some brine from the roasted red pepper jar for more tang.
Too spicy? Add some more breadcrumbs and lemon.
Too bland? Adjust salt and EVOO levels.