Middle Eastern Roasted Red Pepper & Almond Dip

Recipe: Jenny Morris
Serves: 4 to 6
Preparation: 25 minutes
Cooking: 25 minutes

INGREDIENTS

4 very large red peppers
olive oil, to drizzle
salt and pepper to taste
300 g almonds in their skins
50 g flaked almonds
3 Tbsp white sesame seeds
2 cloves peeled garlic
½ cup olive oil
½ tsp ground cumin
2 Tbsp chopped fresh coriander
flat leaf parsley, to garnish
toasted wedges of pita bread or ciabatta, to serve

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 200 °C.
Quarter the peppers and remove the seeds and pith, place onto a baking tray and drizzle with some olive oil, season with salt and pepper, cover with tin foil and roast for 15 minutes.
While the peppers are roasting toast the whole almonds separately in a dry pan. Spoon out, then roast the flaked almonds in the same pan and then the sesame seeds. Keep them all separate and do not burn them.
Remove the peppers from the oven and let them stand for 10 minutes, remove as much skin from the peppers as possible.
Place the whole almonds and garlic into a food processor with the red peppers, ½ cup olive oil and cumin, season with salt and pepper and blitz till almost smooth, stir in the coriander, taste and adjust seasoning.
Pile onto a serving platter, scatter with a little roughly chopped parsley, sesame seeds and flaked almonds.
Enjoy with toasted wedges of pita bread or ciabatta.