Filfel Chuma

Name: Filfel Chuma
Yield: Serves 6 (Makes about ¾ cup)
Ingredients: 2 dried, guajillo chiles, stemmed, seeded, and torn into ½-inch pieces (¼ cup); 1 cup, boiling water; 12 , garlic cloves, minced to paste; ¼ cup, extra-virgin olive oil; 1 tablespoon, ground cumin; 1 tablespoon, smoked paprika; 1 tablespoon, paprika; 1½ teaspoons, caraway seeds; 1 teaspoon, grated lemon zest plus 3 tablespoons juice; ½ teaspoon, kosher salt; ¼ teaspoon, cayenne pepper

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By Dominique Khoury

Appears in Cook's Illustrated September/October 2023

Side Dishes

Vegetables

Condiments

Filfel chuma—the source of chraime's foundational flavors—is a wildly delicious paste of garlic, spices, and dried chiles, that is a pillar of the Libyan-Jewish kitchen.

SERVES6 (Makes about ¾ cup)

TIME25 minutes

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

The Libyan chile paste called filfel chuma isn't just for chraime though; it brings gutsy flavor to meats and vegetables too: Make a batch to use as a marinade or to dress food after cooking. Alternatively, stir some into mayonnaise to spic...

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