Sauces, Dressings & Dips Archives | The Good Hearted Woman

Red Pepper Walnut Dip with Pomegranate Molasses {Muhammara}

Roasted Red Pepper & Walnut Dip with Pomegranate Molasses (Muhammara) is a versatile, savory-sweet dip that is delicious spread on pita, as a dip for veggies, or sauce for kabobs. Gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, and… AMAZING!

Muhammara, or Roasted Red Pepper & Walnut Dip with Pomegranate Molasses, originated in Aleppo, Syria, and its principal ingredients traditionally include red peppers, ground walnuts, breadcrumbs, spices, and olive oil. However, this recipe – inspired by popular local pub fare – omits the bread crumbs, and instead uses roasted carrots to thicken and extend the dip. Not only do the carrots keep this delicious savory-sweet dip gluten-free, but they give it a wonderful creaminess and infuse an earthy sweetness as well.

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Every year, our town hosts the Portland Book Festival [formerly Wordstock], a week-long literary celebration with a mission: to use the power of writing to effect positive change in people’s lives. Some years back, my sister-friend Dottie and I attended the annual Poetry Slam together, and afterwards decided to stop for a little late night nosh at the adjacent Bagdad Pub.

Dottie and I ordered something called “Three Faces of Eve,” [super-fancy hummus plate] and sat down to rehash the slam, poet by poet.

Forty-five minutes later, still no hummus plate. When we finally got our waitress’s attention and she (let’s call her Alice) went to check on our order, only to return frantic and apologizing all over the place. Alice said she had no idea what happened but the kitchen never got our order.

“Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?” she asked us – at least seven times. In between apologizing, she kept up a steady train of chatter, trying so hard to be accommodating that it was driving us nuts. All either Dottie or I could think was, “It’s OK, we understand. Really. Just please stop talking.”

Finally, I told Alice what would really make me happy: I wanted the recipe for their roasted red pepper walnut dip. Which I love. LOVE. As in, I have been known to go to this pub solely for the walnut-pomegranate dip. (It is my favorite of Eve’s three faces.)

“Can you get the recipe for me?” I asked, smiling my best ‘you might just be able to salvage your tip’ smile.

“I dunno, but I’ll try.” She didn’t sound very confident, but it gave her something to do besides hover over us like a needy dragonfly.

Ten minutes later, Alice emerged from the back with a big grin, waving piece of white paper. My recipe! I was so happy I almost got misty. I had literally been wanting this recipe for years! I scanned it briefly before I returned to Dottie and our conversation, and it was a good thing I did! Because somewhere between the booth at the Bagdad and my front door, that little slip of paper completely disappeared.

Luckily, I have a knack for remembering printed text pretty well, so I wasn’t really panicked. I was pretty sure I had the complete list of ingredients memorized, including basic ratios. In the long run, losing it wasn’t entirely a bad thing, because it forced me to really work each this recipe out for myself, and I couldn’t be more pleased with the results!

Roasted Red Pepper & Walnut Dip {Muhammara} is savory, sweet, smoky deliciousness! Spread on pita, dip in veggies, or sauce up kabobs! 🌻 #glutenfree #dairyfree #vegan #healthyfood #healthylifestyle #healthyrecipes #recipes Click To Tweet

5 from 6 votes

Muhammara (Red Pepper & Walnut Dip with Pomegranate Molasses)

Inspired by the Walnut-Pomegranate Dip on the "Three Faces of Eve" Plate at McMenamins Bagdad Theater & Pub in Portland, Oregon.

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time45 mins

Total Time1 hr

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Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Mediterranean

Keyword: appetizer, dip

Servings: servings

Author: Renée B. ♥ The Good Hearted Woman

Equipment

Ingredients

1 pound carrots peeled and cut into 2" pieces
1 large red pepper cored, seeded, and cut into eighths
1 teaspoon cumin
4 tablespoons olive oil divided
1 cup walnuts about 4 ounces
1 teaspoon smoked paprika or sumac
1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper flakes or 1/2 tsp regular red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons Pomegranate Molasses plus more for garnish
2 cloves garlic coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
1 cup warm water

Instructions

Roast Vegetables

Preheat oven to 425°F.
Cover a baking sheet pan with a Silpat mat or parchment paper and spread the prepared vegetables out in a single layer. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of olive oil over vegetables and toss to coat. Season vegetables lightly with kosher salt and ground cumin.
Roast vegetable in preheated oven for 45 minutes, turning once halfway through. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Once vegetables are cool, remove peel from red peppers.

Toast Walnuts

Heat walnuts in a dry, heavy skillet over medium heat for 2 or 3 minutes, or until nuts are golden brown and smell toasty. Walnuts burn easily in a skillet, so be sure to stir constantly to ensure even toasting until the nuts turn a rich, golden brown. Remove walnuts from skillet and set aside.

Prep Spices

In the same skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Turn off burner, add the cumin and paprika, and stir in hot oil until fragrant - just a few seconds. Allow to cool slightly.

Put it all together!

Put all ingredients into a food processor or blender and pulse until smooth. Serve with warm pita triangles, celery sticks, carrot sticks, or whatever makes you happy.

Notes

As with many things, the flavors in this dip benefit greatly by having a little time to blend. It can definitely be eaten immediately after making it, but If you are making this for a party, I strongly suggest doing so a day ahead of time to allow the flavors to mingle and come together. Serve cold or at room temperature.

If you prefer your dips a little chunkier, reserve one carrot and a handful of walnuts until after you have mostly pureed the mixture, then throw the reserve nuts and carrot in and pulse for a few times to combine.

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Ingredient Notes:

Aleppo Peppers: Named after the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, Aleppo dried pepper flakes are traditionally used in Muhammara. Aleppo pepper flakes are about half as hot as crushed red chili flakes, and according to some, twice as flavorful. Aleppo pepper flakes can be found in specialty markets or online.
Carrots: Carrots are not a traditional ingredient in muhammara; however, this recipe uses carrots in place of breadcrumbs to thicken and extend the dip. For this recipe, I chose to roast the carrots before blending them into the dip, instead of simply boiling them as my original notes indicated. Not only do the roasted carrots pair perfectly with the walnut-pomegranate flavors to make this savory-sweet dip gluten-free, but they give it a wonderful creaminess as well.
Pomegranate Molasses: Probably the most unusual ingredient in this recipe, pomegranate molasses is a household staple in many Middle Eastern kitchens. It has a truly unique flavor, and can be used for glazes, salad dressings, and even barbecuing. You can find it at specialty stores or online. And before you even ask: no, here is no good substitute for it.

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Originally Posted June 2013.1

Original Taco House Fiesta Dressing {CopyCat Recipe}

May 22 By Renée ♥ 81 Comments

You can’t buy the legendary Original Taco House Fiesta Dressing at the restaurant or in the store anymore, but now you can make it at home! Perfect sweet heat for tacos, salads, sizzling meats, party dips – and much, much more!

On December 31, 2017, the Original Taco House, Portland’s first “Mexican” restaurant and a fixture on the Eastside for more than fifty years, abruptly closed its doors forever – yet another old-school Portland restaurant lost to the mists of time.

The Original Taco House was one of those places that brought families together. The food was dependably good and priced to sell in our working-class neighborhood, and when I was little, it was one of my family’s go-to spots for a night out. My Dad was a middle school teacher, and he often had former students who waited tables there, so there was always a smiling face to greet us. They treated Dad like a celebrity, and we always got great service.

Original Taco House Fiesta Dressing {CopyCat Recipe}

The Original Taco House on Powell was the second OTH to open. [Image by Victor von Salza, used with permission]

When I got older and started dating Mr B, we made some fond memories of our own at The Original Taco House. The original location on 82nd Avenue was just a short walk from our high school, and in 1980-something you could get a beef “El Picador” (what they called nachos before we called them nachos) or a large “meat & cheese salad” – both smothered with that amazing Original Taco House Fiesta Dressing and big enough for two – for four or five bucks. Needless to say, Mr B and I spent many (extended) lunch hours there sharing a meal and gazing adoringly into each others’ eyes.

Later, when I went on to have my own family, we often found ourselves eating at the Original Taco House when we visited my parents, to the point where it became one of my kids’ favorite eating spots. And the last time we ate there as a family, my grandchildren were sitting around the table with us. After three generations, dinner at the Original Taco House had become a solid family tradition.

Our last family dinner at the Original Taco House. We don’t usually take pictures at restaurants, but this was a special occasion. (Any time we get five of our girls all together in the same place at the same time, it is a special occasion!)

After all that history, it probably goes without saying Mr B and I were pretty broken up about the Original Taco House’s sudden closing. Sure, the decor was dated and the menu anything but authentically Mexican, but we loved it because of those things, not in spite of them.

Now there will be no more pictures of adorable black-eyed babies in sombreros hanging on the wall watching you eat. No more burros with brightly colored saddle packs. No more (amazing!) corn-flake crusted deep-fried ice cream balls. No more sizzling “El Picadors” heaped with melting cheese and olives and peppers. No more amazing house-made Fiesta Dressing.

Wait! What?!?

When I figured out that our favorite salad dressing would no longer be available, I started to worry. I checked our bottle in the fridge: only about two or three ounces left. I checked local stores: discontinued, and limited to stock on hand. Amazon: same. I sprung into action:

Me: “OK, no one touch the taco salad dressing!”
Them: “Why?” (Until that moment, no one was even thinking of it.)
Me: “I have to figure out the recipe before it’s all gone. I need it for taste comparison.”
Them [reaching into the fridge door for the bottle]: “What if we just use a little?” (Once again, no one had even considered using it that day until I mentioned it.)
Me: “Not. One. Drop.” (Translation: Just put the bottle down and walk away slowly, and no one will get hurt.)

Good thing they know when I mean business.

To recreate the recipe, the first thing I did was consult the ingredient label on our treasured “last bottle.”

“The Last Bottle”

Conveniently, ingredients on product labels are listed in order of predominance, with the ingredients used in the greatest amount first, followed in descending order by those in smaller amounts. This gave me a good road map for figuring out the recipe.

I chose the brands of necessary premade products (i.e., El Pato Tomato Sauce, Chalula hot sauce) based on the ingredients listed parenthetically on the label list (i.e., the list of collective ingredients in the hot chili sauce, Worcestershire sauce, etc. as listed on the label) in an effort to keep them as close to the original ingredients used as possible.

After that, it was just a lot of mixing, tasting, adjusting, tasting, mixing, adjusting, tasting… and repeat. (Let’s just say that I have enough Fiesta Dressing in my fridge now to get us all through a major nation-wide salad dressing shortage.)

In the end, I think we hit it pretty darn close. (We even nailed the exact calorie count of the original!) The mixture I created is somewhat creamier in appearance than the original Original Taco House Fiesta Dressing, but the flavor is spot-on and it has the familiar slightly sweet kick and peppery tang that we crave so much.

Fiesta Dressing is essentially a Tex-mex spin on Catalina: a sweet, spicy, and tangy, with just a hint of Romano.

Here’s to happy memories! Enjoy!

4.87 from 22 votes