An Addictive Taste of the Middle East In Ronda’s Muhammara
It’s nutty, tangy, savory, and fruity with tomato and pomegranate — and you’ll want to dollop it on most everything.
Made with ground walnuts for a chunky-textured sauce, muhammara is vegan, too.
Now, Ronda’s Fine Foods of Petaluma has debuted a shelf-stable version that comes in glass jars.
The company was founded by Ronda Brittian of Petaluma, a former trauma nurse who developed a passion for cooking from her grandparents, one set of Mexican heritage and the other hailing from the South.
With her life partner, Steve Davis, a food brand manager, she launched the company with her jarred romesco, the classic Spanish sauce of almonds, tomato, garlic, red wine vinegar, red peppers, and olive oil.
Besides plenty of walnuts, her new muhammara is a blend of olive oil, roasted red peppers, tomato paste, red wine vinegar, pomegranate molasses, garlic, Aleppo pepper, sumac, sea salt, and cayenne.
There’s a modest amount of heat. What really hits at the forefront is the twang of the pomegranate molasses that marries so well with the deep tomato taste.
It will jazz up anything it touches — from scrambled eggs to a lamb burger to meatloaf to grilled shrimp to roast chicken to a ham sandwich. I especially love roasting most any vegetables hiding in the fridge, and turning up the volume with this bodacious sauce.
A 2-tablespoon serving has 120 calories, 95mg sodium, 11g fat, 60mg potassium, and no cholesterol.
A 9-ounce jar is $11.99 on the Ronda’s Fine Foods web site. It’s also available at Raley’s, Diablo Foods, Lunardi’s Market, Whole Foods, and Nob Hill Foods.