Today is THE Day of THE amazing VVP – The Virtual Vegan Potluck!
Welcome!
168 bloggers gather around the virtual table, each bringing a delicious vegan dish.
You do not have to be vegan to enjoy it – believe me!
This is THE perfect place to be inspired and possibly even awe stricken by all the incredible delicious and creative dishes coming from the vegan kitchen!
VVP was originally created by Annie, the amazing woman behind the wonderful blog anunrefinedvegan.
Thanks to all the wonderful people behind VVP – Somer, Annie, Jason and Lidia for hosting the event. You guys rock!
This is how it works:
If you want to start from the very beginning you have to go to veganbloggersunite – Or you can go from here and simply scroll down and press the “go forward” or the “go back” buttons, and away you go.
And so the party begins! I hope you have fun!
My contribution this year is an appetizer, inspired by the Lebanese kitchen. It’s intense, spicy, a little hot with a hint of sweetness. It’s delicious and it tastes SO good as dip for veggies or on a cracker.
This is my version of the Lebanese dish Muhammara – originally it is made with the little Piquillo peppers, but I used red peppers to make a milder version.
Red peppers ready for the grill
Muhammara
Spicy Lebanese Pepper and Walnut dip with Pomegranate
3 red peppers
1.5 cup of walnuts
2 slices of good bread
1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons of pomegranate molasses
1 tablespoon of cumin
1 heaped tablespoon of chopped sun dried tomatoes
1-2 cloves of garlic
1/2 green chili (depending on how hot you like it)
1 tablespoon of paprika
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Freshly squeezed juice of one lemon
Sea salt – and freshly ground pepper
Grill the peppers on the BBQ or bake them in a hot oven till the skins are completely black. Let them cool a bit before removing the skins, the seeds and the core.
Put the walnuts and the bread in a food processor and pulse until finely processed.
Walnuts and bread
Add the grilled peppers and the other ingredients,
Muhammara magic
the pomegranate molasses, the balsamic vinegar and the olive oil to the blender mix.
Pomegranate molasses and balsamic vinegar
Process until it turns into a smooth paste.
Serve in a bowl with a sprinkle of fresh pomegranate seeds and a dash of olive oil.
Fresh pomegranate
Enjoy the Muhammara with homemade crackers
Served with crackers
A delicious mouthful
or serve the dip with fresh vegetables
“I drink to the general joy o’ the table” – William Shakespeare Macbeth
Thank you for coming I loved having you here!
Please visit the other blogs by clicking the links below. Have fun!
Anne Sture Tucker 
Looks so delicious Anne!! I’ve never even heard of pomegranate molasses but it sounds amazing!!
Dear Brandi, thank you!! – You will love pomegranate molasses – the new secret ingredient 🙂
What a delicious addition to the Virtual Vegan Potluck 😀
Cheers
CCU
Thank you Uru friend! XXX
Fabulous – I’ve never tried this before!
Dear Poppy – I hope you will try to make Muhammara – It’s easy to make and it’s a real treat 🙂
Thank you for visiting!
I sure will try it, it looks delicious! 🙂
Thank you Poppy! I hope you will enjoy it 🙂
Absolutely beautiful, Anne! The photos are lovely. Thank you so much for participating again – – xoxo, Annie
Thank you Annie – as always, it was a joy 🙂
This looks awesome! Your homemade crackers looks great, too. I’ll have to hunt down pomegranate molasses!
Thank you! I love the pomegranate molasses, it has become my new secret ingredient 🙂
Oh that looks MAGICAL! In love with these flavors! xx
Thanks Somer! – Yes this would be right up your alley – I am sure you will be instantly hooked on this 🙂
We tried a version of this at our co-op a few weeks ago but it was SUPER pricy. Thanks for giving me a DIY version…so much more fun too. Looks lovely!
Hi Amanda – thank you! I hope you try the DIY version of Muhammara – it’s so easy to make and it tastes so good!
Looks so beautiful with the jewels of pomegranate! Great job! Thanks for linking back to me. Happy VVP!
Thank you Sarina!
I’ve never heard of muhammara before but this looks absolutely delightful!
Oh thank you! I hope you will try it 🙂
Anne, I love muhammara, and yours looks delicious! I love your spread of fresh vegetables + the pomegranate seed garnishes. Lovely recipe.
Thank you Allison – Muhammara is great and you can use it in so many ways!
Gorgeous presentation! This looks divine.
Thank you Brittany 🙂
I’m not at all familiar with Lebanese food but this sounds delish! What a great appetizer.
Thank you! I love exploring foreign foods and I am in love with the middle eastern cuisine – always spicy, intense and flavorful 🙂
Wow, what an interesting combination of flavors, it sounds delicious!
Thank you Maggie! It really is delicious and so easy to make!
This looks delicious Anne – yum! I adore dips and anything with red pepper – I am SO intrigued! Adding to my must make list 🙂 Happy VVP!
Thank you Shira! I agree anything with red peppers- Muhammara is quite addictive! 🙂
This looks amazing! I love all the ingredients you use and I love spreads so this is definitely a winner! I’m going to need to get some pomegranate molasses. 🙂
Oh thank you! I am so glad you like it! I just got familiar with pomegranate molasses and I am hooked 🙂
This looks and sounds like a terrific spread. It reminds me of a spicy Spanish Romesco sauce but prettier. I love your presentation.
Yes it’s much like Romesco which is gorgeous too!
Thank you for stopping by Karen!
Very nice Anne! looks lovely especially with the pomegranate
Thank you Trish! Don’t you just love pomegranate – they are fantastic in salads too!
What a unique dish – a wonderful pot luck addition!! I like that you made a milder version – I’m not a fan of spicy foods! Celeste:)
Thank you Celeste, I am glad you liked it 🙂
YUm! This looks beautiful 🙂
Thank you Sammy 🙂
I love walnuts but my husband doesn’t. I’ll have to make this when sharing with others. Looks delicious, and great pics!
Thank you! Great idea to make it when sharing with others or you could use almonds instead 🙂
Ooh, almonds! Great idea!
You have tickled my food-related imagination again .. I would not be able to find a few ingredients from your recipee so I will have to eat my pommegranate as I always do – neat 😀 Beautifully presented – the photos are wonderful, Anne 🙂
Thank you Paula! If you are thinking of the pomegranate molasses and it’s hard to get – you can easily make your own. The molasses is an amazing secret ingredient in salad dressings, in marinades and in Muhammara 🙂
Hi honey, I don’t have time or patience to cook now and pomegranate being my absolute favourite food – most closely related to my precious childhood memories I will always enjoy it as it is 🙂 but I am always intrigued by your posts.. Good health and courage to you!!
So true nothing like juicy pomegranate, just like that 🙂
😀 yeah 🙂
Your photos are wonderful and very enticing. This looks really healthy and tasty too.
Thank you AD! 😉
Looks very delicious, Anne. I love pomegranate and the combination of sweet, spicy and savory is always very appealing to the palate. 😉
Ann, Muhammara was one of the most delicious things I tasted in Turkey! Of all the places I had it, Develi restaurant was the very best. Your recipe looks and sounds similar. Can’t wait to try it out! Thank you so much for sharing 🙂
I hope you will enjoy it as much as the one you had in Develi’s restaurant! That’s one of the great things about traveling, all the amazing new food you get to try 🙂
Thank you for stopping by Madhu!
What an awesome event. I am learning a lot from these compassionate bloggers. Your dip looks beautiful Anne. printing agaiN!
Thank you!! Yes it was fun – you should have been there Cass 🙂
I hope you enjoy the Muhammara!
XXX