Recipes    

Turkish cuisine provides healthy, hearty, delicious food for family and friends.
Find out more

Cookery Classes

I teach Turkish cooking classes in England,Turkey & USA, hope you can join us!,
Find Out More

Walnut and Red Pepper Paste Dip, Muhammara or Cevizli Biber



This is one of my favorite mezes of all time; it is very easy to make and very, very more-ish, you just can’t stop eating them. It is one of my mother’s recipes from her historic hometown Antakya (Antioch) and whenever I make it, I feel like I am home.

Image from Ozlem’s Turkish Table cookery book, by Sian Irvine Photography

Meze feast from Ozlem’s Turkish Table cookery book; image by Sian Irvine Photography

Tahini bread or pita bread would go really well with this delicious dip/spread. You can keep the dip covered in the fridge for 3-4 days. Middle Eastern stores or specialty stores usually carry the red pepper paste. If you can’t find it, there is a recipe for red pepper paste, biber salcasi.

 

This delicious dip and over 90 authentic Turkish recipes are included at my cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table. Signed copies now 10 % Off at this link and delivered worldwide. If you live in the US, Canada or Mexico, you can order here with reduced shipping rates.

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Serves 4-6

3-4 slices of white or wholemeal or gluten-free stale bread (about 70 gr)
1/3 yellow onion (or little less), chopped
45ml/3 tablespoons Turkish red pepper paste

1oml/2 teaspoons concentrated tomato paste
225gr/8oz walnuts, shelled
10ml / 2 teaspoons ground cumin
Pinch of Salt
60ml/4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
15ml/1 tablespoon water

To serve:
15ml/1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
5ml/ 1 teaspoon pul biber/ red pepper flakes

5ml/1 teaspoon cumin
Pita bread,  pide bread or crackers to serve

Ground the walnuts with the onion, cumin, salt and red pepper paste and tomato paste in the food processor. Soak the bread into water and squeeze the excess water. Crumble the bread and add to the mixture in the food processor. Add the extra virgin olive oil and water and blend to make a smooth spread. If it appears to be too thick, add a little more olive oil.

Place the spread on a small salad plate or bowl. Pour the extra virgin olive oil all over and sprinkle with red pepper flakes. Serve the spread with pita bread, tahini bread or wide crackers.

Afiyet Olsun,

Ozlem

, , , , , ,

15 Responses to Walnut and Red Pepper Paste Dip, Muhammara or Cevizli Biber

  1. Medifast Coupons February 20, 2011 at 10:05 am #

    Well you sure have made this recipe proud, it looks wonderful, beautiful color.

  2. Ozlem's Turkish Table February 22, 2011 at 12:54 pm #

    Thank you very much for the comment, it is a wonderful dip and I am delighted to pass it on:) Afiyet Olsun! Ozlem

  3. Julie Schmidlen August 18, 2019 at 7:35 pm #

    I just got back from Turkey, and I fell in Love with the country! We stayed at the Pera Palace in Istanbul, stayed in Bodrum and sailed for a week on a Gulet. My entire family is still dreaming of Turkey : )
    I made Muhammara for a family Turkish dinner, and it is delicious!! I needed to play with the recipe a bit, and I am amazed at just how good it turned out!
    I am now thinking of taking Ozlem’s class in Boston in November 2019, I live in California but what a wonderful excuse to visit Boston!!

  4. Julian Young March 23, 2021 at 4:51 pm #

    Is it possible to make this without tomato? would you add anything instead?

    Many thanks

    • Ozlem Warren March 26, 2021 at 3:07 pm #

      Hi, yes you could just use pepper paste, though it may be spicy; so you may like to use less spicy pepper paste, hope you enjoy it, Ozlem

      • Figen January 19, 2022 at 3:19 pm #

        Can you use other nuts besides walnuts or a mix of nuts?

        • Ozlem Warren January 21, 2022 at 11:39 am #

          Merhaba Figen,
          We traditionally use walnuts but feel free to experiment with other nuts, such as hazelnuts, pecans, Afiyet Olsun.

  5. Ozlem July 22, 2012 at 3:56 pm #

    thank you so much for the link Peri 🙂

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. Potato and Pea Tikki-Kebab Salad with Lemon Mint Vinaigrette « Peri's Spice Ladle - July 20, 2012

    […] on party appetizer ideas, I’m going to share one of my go-to favorites; Ozlem’s Walnut & Red Pepper Paste Dip recipe from Ozlem’s Turkish Table; it’s a family recipe and truly different from the normal […]

  2. Kayseri Style Layers of Flat Breads with Gound Meat and Vegetable, Yaglama | Ozlem's Turkish Table - April 4, 2014

    […] The original recipe calls for the Turkish hot pepper paste, biber salcasi; this paste will add a lot of flavor to the sauce if you prefer to add. You can make it yourself with my recipe or Middle Eastern stores or Turkish online stores like Tulumba  or Best Turkish Food carry it. This is a great dish to enjoy for the whole family and friends;  it takes a bit of time but worth every effort. You can also use these flat breads to enjoy delicious mezzes like this Walnut and red pepper paste dip. […]

  3. Acuka: Turkse Walnotendip - tastykoken - May 10, 2014

    […] surfend op het internet kwamen we op de site Oslem’s Turkish Table. Een site vol met heerlijke, makkelijke Turkse recepten. Een van die makkelijke gerechten is Acuka, […]

  4. Potato and Pea Tikki-Kebab Salad with Lemon Mint Vinaigrette - Peri's Spice Ladle - March 26, 2015

    […] on party appetizer ideas, I’m going to share one of my go-to favorites; Ozlem’s Walnut & Red Pepper Paste Dip recipe from Ozlem’s Turkish Table; it’s a family recipe and truly different from the normal […]

  5. A breath of fresh air in Antakya & İskenderun | From the seven hills of Istanbul - October 14, 2015

    […] we opted for hummus topped with olive oil (hummus with butter was also an option), muhammara (red pepper & walnut dip), and Ali Nazik (fried eggplant in garlic yogurt, topped with minced […]

  6. A Festive Fethiye Times - day four - Fethiye Times - December 23, 2017

    […] Click here for the recipe. […]

  7. Delicious Turkish Festive Meals To Share; Mutlu Bayramlar! | Ozlem's Turkish Table - August 20, 2018

    […] Icli Kofte – Oruk, Cevizli Biber- Walnut dip, red pepper paste dip, Patlicanli Eksileme- Roasted Eggplant […]

Leave a Reply