Carrot Muhammara with Crispy Butter Beans

Carrot Muhammara with Crispy Butter Beans

This one genuinely surprised us the first time we made it. Muhammara is usually built around roasted red peppers, but we swapped them out for carrots and honestly, we think it's even better. You get this incredible deep, sweet, slightly smoky dip with the warmth of Aleppo pepper and the richness of toasted walnuts, and then the crispy butter beans on top add this satisfying crunch that makes the whole thing feel special. It's the kind of side dish that ends up stealing the show. Make it tonight and watch it disappear before the main even lands on the table.

Cook: 35 min
Serves 4

Before You Start

  • Preheat oven to 200°C
  • Large baking tray
  • Food processor
  • Serving plate

Ingredients

  • 3 large carrots
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • 50g walnuts
  • 50g fresh breadcrumbs
  • 1 ½ tsp Aleppo pepper flakes
  • The juice of half a lemon
  • 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 400g tin of butter beans
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • The juice of half a lemon
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • lemon zest
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • handful of parsley leaves
  • large slices of good quality bread

Method

1

Roast the carrots

  • Peel and roughly chop the carrots
  • On a baking tray, add the carrots and garlic cloves (no need to peel them at this stage). Toss with the cumin, olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes, until the carrots are tender
  • Add the walnuts to the tray for the final 6 minutes
2

Make the muhammara

  • Pop the garlic cloves from the skin and add them to the food processor with the carrots, walnuts, breadcrumbs, aleppo and lemon. Pulse until combined, maintaining some texture. Transfer to a bowl and stir through the pomegranate molasses. Set to one side
3

Prepare the Pan Fried Spiced Butter Beans

  • Open the beans and rinse under cold water
  • Warm the olive oil in a frying pan. Add the beans and cumin to the pan and fry for 2-3 minutes.  Squeeze over the lemon juice and fold to coat. Taste and season to perfection with salt and pepper
4

Time to serve

  • Smooth the muhammara on a serving plate. Spoon the beans on top. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle over a little more pepper and scatter with lemon zest and parsley leaves. Serve immediately with a toasted bread of your choice

Tips & Variations

  • Get the texture right: We find blending the muhammara in short pulses rather than going full speed gives you a better consistency. You want it a little rough and textured, not completely smooth. That's what makes it feel rustic and interesting.
  • Crispy butter beans: Don't skip drying the butter beans really well before roasting them. Pat them dry with a clean tea towel and they'll crisp up beautifully. If they go in wet, they'll steam instead of crisp and nobody wants that.
  • Make it a mezze: This works brilliantly as part of a spread. We love serving it alongside warm flatbreads, some hummus and a simple tomato salad. It's our go-to when we've got people over and want something that looks impressive but isn't too stressful.

Why This Works

Roasting the carrots with cumin and garlic is the move here. It concentrates all that natural sweetness and adds a gentle earthiness that makes the dip taste way more complex than you'd expect. The trick is letting the walnuts toast on the tray for those final few minutes, because that's what gives the muhammara its nutty depth without any extra faff.