Muhammara with grilled flatbread
Serves 8 (makes about 1 cup muhammara)
Muhammara:
- 1 slice Italian or French bread
- 1 cup walnuts (plus a few for garnish), toasted
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste, preferably from a tube
- 1 cup roasted red bell pepper strips, homemade or jarred
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin, toasted
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon coarsely ground Aleppo pepper or 1/2 teaspoon Hungarian paprika
- About 1 teaspoon sugar, optional
- Grilled Flatbread:
- 4 pita bread rounds
- Extra virgin olive oil, for brushing
Prepare the muhammara: Tear Italian or French bread into pieces and place in a blender. Process into crumbs. Add walnuts, olive oil, pomegranate molasses, tomato paste, roasted peppers, cumin, kosher salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of the Aleppo pepper and blend until smooth, scraping sides occasionally. Taste and bring the flavors into balance by adding more salt, Aleppo pepper, pomegranate molasses, and/or sugar, as necessary-it should taste bright and vibrant. Transfer to a bowl, cover and let stand for at least 20 minutes for flavors to meld. Taste again and adjust seasoning, if necessary.
Prepare the grilled flatbread: Preheat a panini grill or other grill. With clean kitchen scissors, cut each pita bread around its circumference and separate each bread into two circles. Brush both sides of the breads lightly with olive oil. Grill until toasted on both sides. Transfer to a cooling rack; bread will become crisp as it stands.
To serve: Spread muhammara on a large, flat platter and sprinkle with a few crumbled walnuts. Arrange a stack of grilled flatbread alongside the platter and break off pieces of flatbread to scoop up the muhammara.
Pronounced moo-hah-mah-rah, this addictive spread is popular in Turkey, Syria and Lebanon, where it is served as a flavorful hors d'oeuvre with grilled flatbread or as an accompaniment to grilled kebabs of fish, chicken or lamb. I like to serve muhammara as a condiment with Grilled Leg of Lamb with Pomegranate Marinade, as both contain pomegranate molasses, making for a natural flavor bridge between the meat and the condiment. Look for pomegranate molasses and Aleppo pepper in Middle Eastern markets, well-stocked grocery stores or specialty markets. Or order Aleppo pepper from Vanns Spices at www.vannsspices.com or 800-583-1693.
Buy the book on Amazon: Cooking School Secrets For Real-World Cooks
Scholarship Info:
The Best Teen Chef competition at The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of California - San Francisco gives High School Seniors a chance to compete for a full tuition scholarship in the culinary arts.
Grand Prize:
The grand prize is a full-tuition scholarship to The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of California - San Francisco, the opportunity to work as an "Intern for a Day" at the Food Network Kitchens in New York City, including a tour of the Food Network Studios, dinner for two at a Food Network chef's restaurant, and a library of Food network Kitchens cookbooks.
Dates & Deadlines:
*High school seniors must first submit a completed Entry and Release form by February 6, 2009 to The Art Institute of California - San Francisco or fill out an online entry form at www.artinstitutes.edu/btc.
*Seniors must then submit their favorite recipe in standardized format, a photo of the recipe (optional), a copy of their high school transcripts, and a short essay (250 words max) that details why they want to study Culinary Arts at the Art Institute. Deadline for completed entries is February 20, 2009.
-Local Cook-off at The Art Institute of California - San Francisco will be held on March 14, 2009
-The local winner will move on to the national finals in Charlotte, NC, where they will compete on May 9, 2009
For more information and to enter into the competition, visit: www.ArtInstitutes.edu/BTC.
About Linda Carucci Chef Linda Carucci joined The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of California-San Francisco in October 2007. An award-winning culinary instructor, Chef Carucci's peers in the International Association of Culinary Professionals voted her Cooking Teacher of the Year in 2002. She is the author of Cooking School Secrets for Real World Cooks (Chronicle Books), which has recently gone into its fourth printing. The book received a starred review in Publisher's Weekly and has been honored as a finalist for the James Beard Cookbook Award and the Julia Child First Book Award.
Linda served as the inaugural Julia Child Curator of Food Arts at COPIA: The American Center for Wine, Food & the Arts in Napa, CA from 2004 to 2006. She was the dean at her alma mater, the California Culinary Academy, from 1989 to 1993, where she later also served as an adjunct faculty member. She operated her own cooking school, Linda Carucci's Kitchen, from 1997 to 2007 and has taught cooking across the U.S. and abroad. Earlier in her career, she owned and operated a catering company, Carucci & Company, which specialized in small dinners and events.
Chef Carucci has cooked in and managed various restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area, has worked as a private chef for a high-profile San Francisco family, and helped overhaul the patient and public food service menus at the University of California-San Francisco Medical Center.
Linda earned a bachelor's degree in psychology magna cum laude from Stonehill College in Massachusetts and a master's degree in education in College Student Personnel Administration from Colorado State University. Her formal culinary training was at the California Culinary Academy with stages at Club Med in Guaymas, Mexico and with Lidia Bastianich at Felidia restaurant in New York. In May 2007, she earned an Intermediate certificate from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET).
Linda is an active member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, Women Chefs & Restaurateurs, James Beard Foundation, San Francisco Professional Food Society, Les Dames d'Escoffier-International, and Bakers Dozen. She has served as a judge for the James Beard Cookbook Awards and volunteers as a guest chef at the CHEFS (Conquering Homelessness through Education in Food Service) program in San Francisco.
