Middle Eastern muhammara is usually a coarse paste made with peppers and walnuts. We’ve hand-chopped it here and kept the walnuts whole for added crunch. The addition of sour cherries seemed to make a lot of sense from a flavour perspective, but it also represents a step away from the traditional, which is how we like it!

Tahini sauce is a remarkably simple mixture of water, salt and tahini. When combined, the water softens the intense tahini flavour and creates a rich, velvety sauce that becomes greater than the sum of its parts. The quantity given here makes 500ml (17fl oz) but it will keep in the fridge and can be used in almost anything.

Method:

• To make the tahini sauce: put all the ingredients and 240ml (8fl oz) of water in a large mixing bowl and combine using an electric whisk for about 30 seconds. The mixture should have the consistency of pancake batter. If it’s too thin, add a teaspoon more of tahini and mix again. Check and adjust the seasoning.
• Transfer to a sterilised glass jar and store, covered in the fridge, for up to 3 days.
• For the muhammara, using tongs, roast the peppers, either on a barbecue or over an open flame on a gas hob (stovetop), turning, until the skin is blistered all over. Allow them to cool, then peel, discard the seeds, dice and add to a bowl.
• Add the rehydrated sour cherries to the bowl with all the other muhammara ingredients. Mix well.
• To serve, spoon 60g of the tahini sauce over the base of a plate, then spoon the muhammara on top. Drizzle with olive oil and sour cherry molasses. Grate over the walnut (a Microplane is useful here) and sprinkle over the marjoram leaves.

Recipe extracted from Bubala: Middle Eastern Vegetarian Inspired Recipes to Share (Quadrille)