It was coming to the end of a long and sultry day as I languidly eased myself upon a heap of vintage embroidered cushions, the candle-lit lanterns flickering in the warm early evening breeze of an Istanbul night. The background music was haunting as if it were calling me from a far away place. I learned that it was a track called ‘Couples‘ written by Kinan Azmeh, an absolutely brilliant Syrian musician. If you have time listen to it, do so with the volume turned up and feel your heart gently break for a lost love. Then have a glass of wine and forget about it because the love was lost for a reason and it’s not cool to dwell on the past. The mood returned to the usual kind of upbeat a few minutes later when we were joined by a bunch of friends, some Turkish and some Syrian, all gathered together around a worn wooden table chatting and telling stories as we prepared a dozen or so dishes to share including this classic dip from Syria which I love to this day. Here, I’ve use jarred roast peppers. Purists would roast their own but I’m good with the jarred version as I love their bright red colour and the fact that they yield a smoother texture to the finished dish.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients 

1 jar Karyatis roasted red peppers 450g
4 tablespoon extra-vrgin olive oil, plus extra to serve
120g walnuts, lightly toasted
1 garlic clove roughly chopped
3 tbsp of Turkish red pepper paste, hot biber salçasi
100g sourdough breadcrumbs
2-4 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
Half tsp sugar
1 tsp pul biber
1 tsp sumac
Sea salt flakes and freshly ground mixed peppercorns, to your taste
Half a lemon, juiced (optional)
Egyptian toasted hazelnut, almond and thyme dukkah, to serve
Flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped, to serve

How I make it

Roughly chop the peppers and place into a large food processor with 3 tbsp of extra-virgin olive oil and all the remaining ingredients. Blend into a smooth paste and taste to ensure that the flavours are well balanced adding a little more pomegranate molasses or red pepper paste as needed – I often add the juice of half a lemon at this point. Season to your taste.

Turn into a pretty dish, drizzle with the remaining olive oil and garnish with the dukkah and roughly chopped flat leaf parsley. Serve at room temperature.