Turkish Red Pepper Spread

From EatingWell: May/June 1997, The Essential EatingWell Cookbook (2004) — Subscribe Now!

Enriched with walnuts and olive oil, a jar of roasted peppers quickly turns into muhammara, a spread from southeast Turkey. Serve on Toasted Pita Crisps or crisp sesame crackers

About 3/4 cup

Active Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Nutrition Profile

Ingredients

1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 7-ounce jar roasted red peppers, rinsed
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs, (see Tip)
1 large clove garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice, or to taste
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Salt

Preparation

Toast walnuts in a small dry skillet over medium heat, stirring, until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and let cool.
Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Adjust seasoning with more lemon juice and salt, if desired.

Tips & Notes

Tip: To make fresh breadcrumbs: Trim crusts from firm sandwich bread. Tear bread into pieces and process in a food processor until coarse crumbs form. One slice of bread makes about 1/3 cup crumbs.

Nutrition

Per tablespoon: 41 calories; 3 g fat (0 g sat, 1 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 4 g carbohydrates; 1 g protein; 1 g fiber; 115 mg sodium; 14 mg potassium.

Exchanges: 1/2 vegetable, 1/2 fat