One of my favorite ways that Scheidt and I are different is in our ranking methodologies. The conversation happens like this:

Him: "What's your favorite kind of cake?"

Me: "Hmm... Depends... Is it summer or winter? Am I by myself or are there other people around? Is the cake homemade or from a store? What mood am I in? Is it for my birthday? Am I making it or is someone else making it? Is it a big cake or a cupcake?"

I can't even begin to pick the favorite until I know the entire context of the decision, and here the poor guy thought he was asking a simple question with a one-word answer.

While I'm probably just nuts, I like to think that I have too many favorites to choose just one. In my mind, each context has a cake that corresponds perfectly. All of them are my favorite.


Which brings me to today's dip, muhammara from Heidi Swanson. The dip itself has nothing to do with cake and everything to do ranking, or, in this case, determining which muhammara recipe is the most authentic. My friend Ben, who amuses himself by fabricating new email addresses for every comment he leaves on this website, makes another muhammara, one which bears almost no resemblance to this. It isn't even the same color.

And yet, I'm not even interested in which one is the most authenticly Middle Eastern, as my suspicion is that they both are, the Middle East being so varied and multi-contextual that there couldn't possibly be just one authentic recipe.* Besides, they are equally delicious, if in entirely different ways. So who cares?

Whereas Ben's recipe** showcases the walnuts and garlic, this richly-textured, intensely-flavored dip is all about roasted red peppers and tanginess and doesn't have garlic in it at all. As written below, it's not really spicy so much it is just strong, like a Mike Tyson hook to your tastebuds. Of course, you control the heat with the red pepper flakes, so you can amp it up if you so choose.

So back to Scheidt: he's about to go spend the next month in Tenerife, taking infrared video of dust storms as they blow off the Sahara. He'll probably have access to a good amount of food like this, but I'm sure going to miss him. Also, I'm open for dinner dates.

Muhammara Dip
Adapted from Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Cooking

3/4 cup walnuts
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 cup  bread crumbs
1/4 to 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses***
2 tablespoons tomato paste****
2 to 3 roasted red peppers*****
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Pita wedges for serving (grilled if you are fancy)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the walnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast until just fragrant, about 10 minutes. Do not let them burn.

Combine walnuts, red pepper flakes, cumin, bread crumbs, 1/4 cup olive oil, pomegranate molasses, tomato paste, and red peppers in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to combine into a thick paste. With the motor running, gradually stream in more olive oil and/or the warm water until the dip reaches a consistency you like.

Serve at room temperature with pita wedges for dipping.*For instance, try telling a basement full of Italian grandmothers that only one of them has the authentic Italian tomato sauce recipe. If you dare.

**By way of this post, I am requesting - nay, demanding - Ben's recipe for eating, photography and a future post.
***Easy to find at a Mediterranean grocery store, but if not, you can use pomegranate juice.
****The next time I make this, I may leave the tomato paste out all together. Sometimes I taste it a little too much. You could also try sauteeing the paste in olive oil before adding it to the dip, but that would dirty another dish.
*****I get them from a jar, but you can make them yourself. Also, 5 asterisks is a record for this site.