Roasted Red Pepper Dip

For Father's Day I wanted to make a man's meal.  Grilled meat, grilled veggies, bacon-wrapped jalapeno's, things that sound very manly to me.  I found this recipe for Red Pepper Dip and I knew it was perfect for our appetizer for our Father's day meal.

On a side note - recently, the people at POM Wonderful contacted me to sample their product.  I love pomegranate juice but haven't had this specific brand before so I was excited to try it!  And I was excited for the possibilities of what I could make!

This Red Pepper Dip calls for 1 cup of pomegranate juice, exactly the size of one small POM Wonderful bottle.  Perfect!  My first recipe with pomegranate juice.  :)

Roasted Red Pepper Dip

source: Everyday Food, slightly adapted by Amy's New Kitchen
makes 2 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pomegranate juice
• 1 package whole-wheat pitas, 1 pita torn into 1-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted
• 3/4 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 jar (16 oz) roasted red peppers, drained, rinsed, and roughly chopped
• 1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Coarse salt

In a medium sauce pan, simmer pomegranate juice over medium-high until thick and syrupy, ~14 minutes (you should have about 2 Tbsp syrup).


 Meanwhile, in a food processor, process torn pita until coarse crumbs form. Add walnuts, paprika, cumin, and cayenne and process until finely chopped. Add peppers, lemon juice, and syrup then process until mixture is a smooth paste. With machine running, slowly pour olive oil through feed tube and process until well combined. Season with salt and serve with remaining pitas, toasted and cut into wedges.

This dip is not your average dip.  It has a nice little kick to it, which I really like.  I love the tartness that the pomegranate and lemon juices bring to the recipe.   I did add just a little bit more lemon juice than the original recipe called.