Red Pepper & Walnut Dip with Naan Bread
A bold, vibrant red pepper & walnut dip that has just enough spice, and tons of rich flavor.
If there’s one dip I’d want for the rest of my life… it is this one!
Red peppers get roasted until blackened and soft, peeled, and then pureed with classic flavors that add a ton of depth to the dip. I found some dried chipotle morta chiles, but you can use any type of dried chiles that you can find. These get plumped up in hot water until they’re soft enough to work with.
I then toast two things: walnuts in a dry pan and grainy bread in a touch of olive oil. The walnuts add that nutty, rich bite to the dip and work really well with the red peppers. The bread adds body and results in a beautiful creamy texture.
The roasting and toasting of the different ingredients is what adds flavor and really makes a difference in this dip. From there, I just added a few simple touches to enhance the spicy flavors going on… some lemon juice, honey, and salt.
While this dip is somewhat spicy from the chiles, it’s definitely not overpowering.
Ingredients:
- 5 red peppers (about 2 ½ lbs total)
- neutral oil, as needed (I use safflower seed oil)
- kosher salt, as needed
- 4 small dried chipotle chiles (about ½ oz total)
- olive oil, as needed
- 1 tbsp water
- 4 oz grainy bread, cubed
- ½ cup toasted walnuts
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp honey
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 450F. Cut the red peppers in half. Remove the stems and some of the seeds. Place them on a baking sheet and drizzle the oil over top, just enough to provide an even coating. Use your hands to spread the oil onto the peppers. Season each pepper with a pinch of salt. Next, with the red peppers cut side down, roast them for 40 minutes until blackened and soft.
- Cover the dried chiles with hot water and soak for about 30 minutes. Remove the dried chiles from the water, cut them in half, discard the stems, and scrape out the seeds. Give them a rough chop and set aside.
- When the red peppers are cool enough to handle, peel the skins off and discard them. Add the roasted red peppers and chiles to a food processor.
- Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add a generous amount of olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. When the oil is hot, add the cubed bread. Toast the bread until golden brown and slightly crisp, tossing the cubes so they do not burn.
- Add the toasted bread, toasted walnuts, lemon juice, water, salt, and honey to the food processor. Process the ingredients until smooth and creamy. Taste the dip and add more salt or lemon juice if needed. Spoon the dip into a large bowl and top with the black sesame seeds, toasted walnuts, red sorrel leaves, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and a pinch of flaky sea salt.
