Loading ...Mediterranean Cooking from the Garden with Linda Dalal Sawaya—my Lebanese mhammara story!
mhammara—red pepper and walnut dip © linda dalal sawaya 2015
I discovered luscious mhammara dip on a bus tour of monasteries my mother and I took with the Greek Orthodox church choir from our Lebanese village of Douma in 1998. Sitt Yvonne Maalouf Ganamey, wife of the priest William, graciously invited us to go with them. Before sunrise mama and I joined the initially quiet small group sipping Arabic coffee in darkness on the bus as they picked us up at Hotel Douma. We were staying in the hotel surrounded by pine trees—a lovely circular building in the area at the edge of town that used to be called snobar, or the pine tree grove.
Hotel Douma, Batroun, Lebanon © linda dalal sawaya 2015
The round Douma hotel reminds me of the Capitol Records building in Hollywood near where I grew up, without the pine trees. Many Doumanians from Los Angeles helped to build the hotel, including my parents.
Capitol Records building, Hollywood, California
The Douma Hotel is not as tall! but they are both built in the round! And it’s a great place to stay when visiting Douma, Batroun, Lebanon!
My beloved grandmother (sitto) Dalal can be seen on the right in this 100 year old photo in the snobar area of Douma with a group of village women shelling pine nuts (snobar) that they had just gathered.
Douma ladies in the snobar pine tree grove historical photo c. 1910; my sitto Dalal on the right © linda dalal sawaya 2015
The aroma of Arabic coffee perfumed the bus, and a darbuka was tucked silently next to a young man in the front of the bus. Mama and I were strategically placed next to the driver, who, once the sun energized the group was clapping with both hands (not on the steering wheel) to accompany the singing and drumming, while manuevering Beirut traffic, which as we descended from the mountains, thickened much like the bottom of the Arabic coffee pot into a dense mass.
And this is how the day began. Mama soon joined in the singing in Arabic of the Lebanese national anthem, which she remembered from her childhood! At this point she had moved to sit beside the khouriyeh, now a reknown actress from Douma: Yvonne Maalouf Ganamey! While on our visit to Douma in 1998, mama’s first since she immigrated at the age of 16 in 1926, she remembered going to the cinema, which was all closed up and derelict seventy years later. But now that Yvonne and Douma have been featured in Nadine Labaki’s 2011 award winning and delightful film, Where Do We Go Now?, the Douma cinema has been restored and reopened with Nadine Labaki’s blessing! Much of the film was shot in Douma and Sitt Yvonne was a major star in the film. I took this photo of her in her home on my visit to Douma last year. She held a ledger that included my grandmother’s name as one of the first entries and was very gracious with me.
Sitt Yvonne Maalouf, Douma, Batroun, Lebanon © linda dalal sawaya 2015
The bus monastery tour group stopped for ghadda, the main meal of the day at 1 or 2 in the afternoon, at an amazing restaurant in the mountains, after having visited two wonderful monasteries full of icons and mosaics and relics. The long table spread with a beautiful feast of appetizers included mhammara, mounds of fresh vegetables, dozens of little plates, and entrees that were mouth-watering delicious!
The mhammara dip wasn’t something I grew up with that mama made, but I fell in love with it, and upon returning home, devised a recipe which is in Alice’s Kitchen: Traditional Lebanese Cooking on page 175 to replicate what I remembered and loved. My recipe is a simple and quick one, that is a hit whenever served—and is quickly made up in my mini food processor.
The basic ingredients are sweet red peppers, walnuts, sesame seeds, garlic, salt, lemon juice, pomegranate molasses (dibbis rimman)—a favorite of northern Lebanese for tartness in fattoush instead of lemon juice, some chili paste, and bread crumbs to absorb the juices if it’s too runny.
grilling red peppers, photo courtesy David Gillaspie © 2012
grilled whole red peppers © linda dalal sawaya 2015
Starting out with fresh red peppers, just like the eggplant in baba ghannouj, these beauties get roasted right over the flame until the skin is blackened, which is a much quicker process than for the eggplants. Immediately they’re popped into a paper bag that is closed to retain the flavors and to slowly steam and cool.
While they are on the stove top charring, i add chopped garlic and salt to the processor and pulse them together.
Next, I carefully and easily peel all of the charred skin and discard, rinsing the pepper under cool water to remove any bits of black. I then cut out and remove the stem, membrane, and seeds. Any liquid inside the pepper can be added to the food processor, along with fresh garlic, salt, the red peppers, walnuts, sesame seeds, lemon juice, sesame seeds, pomegranate molasses, and chili paste.
Pulse this very quickly so as not to make a purée, as I prefer this on the chunky side, rather than creamy. It tastes great both ways, and is only a matter of preference. Garnish with a walnut half, and serve with pita chips, Arabic bread, or any type of crackers! Surely whenever I make this dip, my thoughts go back to that lovely day trip in Lebanon in 1998 with my beloved mama and the Greek Orthodox choir.
Sahtein!
—Linda Dalal Sawaya is a Portland artist, cook, Master Gardener, daughter of Lebanese immigrants and author of Alice’s Kitchen: Traditional Lebanese Cooking. Remember, as my mother Alice said, “If you make it with love, it will be delicious!”
story and photos © linda dalal sawaya 2015