Recipe: muhammara chickpeas by Amelia Christie-Miller
A flavour-packed dip with walnuts, red peppers and plenty of spices

Move over hummus, said Amelia Christie-Miller. This classic Levantine dip of walnuts, roasted red peppers, spices and pomegranate molasses is sweet, earthy and nutty: you'll want to eat it with or on everything. In this version, it's stirred through chickpeas, but you could also try serving it in a pitta bread with lettuce and tomatoes. It will keep in the fridge for up to five days.
Ingredients: serves four
- 700g jar chickpeas, or 2 × 400g cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
For the muhammara
- 50g walnut pieces (or almonds or hazelnuts), plus extra to serve
- 1 slice of crusty white bread or bread of your choice, roughly chopped into chunks
- 3 red peppers (either from a jar for a speedy version, or fresh if you’re grilling yourself)
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper, dried chilli flakes or hot chilli powder
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- juice of ½ a lemon
- 1-2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to serve
- To serve: pomegranate seeds, handful of freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley or coriander, feta (optional)
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200°C.
- Tip the walnuts and bread chunks onto a baking tray and bake for 6-8 minutes until slightly golden. Keep checking to make sure they don't burn. This step is optional, but roasting the nuts brings out their earthy, nutty flavour.
- If you're using jarred peppers, skip to the next step. If using fresh red peppers, put them on a baking tray and slide under a grill. Once they start to blacken, turn them over until they're charred on all sides. (You can also do this on a barbecue or over a gas stove: char them straight on the flame, turning with tongs.) Once charred, place into a bowl and cover with cling film. Steaming them like this makes them easy to peel. Once they're cool enough to handle, peel and discard the charred skins from the peppers.
- Transfer the peppers to a blender or food processor, along with the bread, walnuts, spices, purée, molasses, garlic, lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Blitz until smooth. Add a few spoonfuls of water to loosen, if necessary.
- Tip the chickpeas into a bowl. Add the muhammara and stir to combine, making sure the chickpeas are well coated in the sauce.
- To serve, sprinkle over the pomegranate seeds and the fresh parsley or coriander. Add a sprinkle of feta here, if you like, and some extra toasted walnuts for crunch. Drizzle with a little more olive oil and serve. This is great alongside a fresh, crunchy salad dressed with lemon juice and olive oil.
Taken from "Bold Beans: Recipes to get your pulse racing" by Amelia Christie-Miller, published by Kyle Books at £22. Photography by Joe Woodhouse. To buy from The Week Bookshop for £17.99, visit theweekbookshop.co.uk.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for The Week's Food & Drink newsletter for recipes, reviews and recommendations.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
How will the new tax deductions on auto loans work?
the explainer Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act introduced a tax deduction on auto loan interest — but eligibility for the tax break is limited
-
Is Trump actually going to prosecute Obama for 'treason'?
Today's Big Question Or is this just a distraction from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal?
-
5 best movie sequels of all time
The Week Recommends The second time is only sometimes as good as the first
-
Friendship: 'bromance' comedy starring Paul Rudd and Tim Robinson
The Week Recommends 'Lampooning and embracing' middle-aged male loneliness, this film is 'enjoyable and funny'
-
6 head-turning homes for town house living
Feature Featuring a roof deck with city views in South Carolina and a renovated Harlem brownstone in New York City
-
Bookish: delightful period detective drama from Mark Gatiss
The Week Recommends 'Cosy crime' series is a 'standout pleasure' in an Agatha Christie-style formula
-
Music Reviews: Justin Bieber, Wet Leg, and Clipse
Feature "Swag," "Moisturizer," and "Let God Sort Em Out"
-
Film reviews: Eddington and Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight
Feature A New Mexico border town goes berserk and civil war through a child's eyes
-
Art Review: Hilma af Klint's What Stands Behind the Flowers
Feature Museum of Modern Art, New York City, through Sept. 27
-
Geoff Dyer's 6 favorite books about the realities of war
Feature The award-winning author recommends works by Ernie Pyle, Michael Herr, and more
-
Book review: 'A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck'
Feature A couple works to keep their marriage together while lost at sea