I received some nice green peppers and whilst working in the garden I thought of a recipe I needed to try out. There is a very famous red pepper dip (muhammara) that I often make, but this time around I tried to make it with the green peppers I received. I also recently-ish made some fig jam, so my fridge is full of fig jam. But also some breadcrumbs, another key ingredient.
In any case, the base idea of the recipe is a fire-roasted pepper, breadcrumbs, nuts, and some form of sweet reduction/molasses. For this recipe, I thought about what flavor would work well with green peppers. And figs were the answer!
So please follow along as I make this very simple yet insanely tasty tip you need to try out!
For this recipe, you will need only a handful of ingredients:
If you have never had fire-roasted peppers, you are in for a treat.
Begin by burning the peppers. Over open coals would have been better for a more intense smoke flavor. But I only had the stovetop.
After almost all of the pepper is black, place them in a container with a lid.
After they have cooled down to room temperature, begin to peel the black layer away. Only the outer skin is supposed to burn.
I cut the pepper into smaller pieces then. This is not a usual step in the normal recipe for this dip, but I added sugar, lemon juice, vinegar, and some of the spices.
I did this extra unusual step because I did not have any of the usual fruits. I needed some extra acidity and this step helped me.
Leaving this to the side, I prepared the nuts/seeds. I chopped some nuts and seeds into smaller pieces.
With some finely chopped garlic, I slowly fried it in olive oil. After the nuts got some color and the garlic cooked, I added the bread crumbs.
I set the nuts/seeds aside and waited for them to cool down.
Meanwhile, I drained the liquid from the roasted pepper mixture and added some of my homemade fig jam to a pan. I then boiled this mixture until it got sticky and caramalised.
Finally, we get to the blending stage! It might feel like loads of work, but you will thank me!
Add the peppers, nuts, and some more olive oil with more cumin, fenugreek, and smoked paprika. Blend this until it becomes a paste.
When you get to this stage, add the fig glaze or mixture and blend until as smooth as you'd like.
And there you have it! It is not the most beautiful-looking sauce or dip, the color is obviously an odd-looking green, but it is an amazing dip! The roasted pepper and the sweet fig glaze work so well. I could not wait for it to cool down to eat it!
I usually eat it with crackers or on bread. But you can also add it to pasta sauces! This works so well with plain pasta with either some chicken or broccoli in. It is wonderful and I make it way too little for how awesome it is. It is a bit of work, but the work is sure well worth it!
In any case, I hope you try this recipe out! Have you ever made something similar? Please let me know.
All of the images are my own taken with my iPhone. The recipe is also my own creation that came to my mind whilst working in the garden.
Happy cooking, stay well!
