Muhammara with melba toast and fattoush

Looking for some fresh and lighter lunch inspiration to kick off the year with? How about trying our muhammara with melba toast and fattoush recipe?

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

3 red peppers

6 slices Vogel’s bread

50 g walnuts, chopped, plus extra to serve

2 tbsp pomegranate molasses

1 large garlic clove, crushed

2 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground

1 tbsp sundried tomatoes

1 tbsp Aleppo chilli flakes

a squeeze of lemon

3 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to serve

For the Fattoush:

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 tsp sumac

1 lemon, juiced

3 tbsp olive oil

1 cucumber, halved, seeded and sliced

12 radishes, quartered

250 g cherry tomatoes, quartered

3 spring onions, sliced

3 tbsp pomegranate seeds

a handful flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

a few sprigs mint, leaves roughly chopped

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 240°C (220° fan) | 475F | gas 9 and line a roasting tin with foil.
2. Roast the peppers for 30 minutes, turning occasionally, until the skins are blackened and blistered all over. Transfer the peppers to a bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave for 15 minutes.
3. Preheat the grill. Toast the bread, then cut off and reserve the crusts. Cut the bread into triangles, then separate each triangle into two layers with a sharp bread knife. Grill the untoasted side of the triangles until golden brown and starting to curl at the edges. Leave to cool.
4. Peel the peppers, then tear in half and discard the stalks, seeds and white membrane.
5. Put the flesh of the peppers in a food processor with the walnuts, pomegranate molasses, garlic, cumin, sundried tomatoes, Aleppo flakes, lemon juice, olive oil and 50 g of the bread crusts. Process until finely ground, pausing to scrape down the sides if necessary. Season to taste with salt.
6. Transfer the muhammara to a serving plate or bowl, sprinkle with a few more chopped walnuts and drizzle with oil.
7. To make the Fattoush, whisk the garlic, sumac, lemon juice and olive oil with a big pinch of salt in a salad bowl. Add the rest of the salad ingredients and toss well.
8. Break a few of the melba toasts into shards and add to the salad and serve the rest on the side for scooping up the muhammara.