Spicy Tomato and Pepper Relish
Acılı Ezme·(ah-juh-luh ez-meh)
Meze & Muhabbet (The Evening Table)
True ezme is a masterpiece of texture and tension, the undisputed king of the Turkish meze table. The internet will tell you to throw the vegetables into a food processor and hit pulse, but grandmothers and neighborhood kebab masters know this is culinary treason. An electric blade obliterates cell walls, turning a vibrant relish into a watery, oxidized soup. All you need to recreate the exact transportive flavors of the homeland is ten minutes of mindful hand-chopping, a razor-sharp knife, and the most crucial secret of all: a fine-mesh strainer to drain the tomatoes before they ever touch the heavily spiced dressing.
Ingredients
- Roma tomatoes4 med
- Anaheim or Padron peppers2 med
- red bell pepper1 med
- yellow onion1 small
- garlic2 cloves
- fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves1/2 cup
- fresh mint leaves2 tbsp
- extra virgin olive oil2 tbsp
- pomegranate molasses2 tbsp
- fresh lemon juice1 tbsp
- Turkish red pepper paste1 tbsp
- tomato paste1 tsp
- Aleppo pepper1 tsp
- Urfa pepper or smoked paprika1 tsp
- sumac1 tsp
- dried mint1 tsp
- kosher salt1/2 tsp
Method
- 01
Gut the tomatoes.
Quarter the Roma tomatoes and use a spoon or paring knife to carve out the wet, gelatinous seeds and core. This immediately eliminates half the unwanted moisture that would otherwise ruin the texture.
- 02
Mince and drain the vegetables.
Using a freshly honed chef's knife, finely dice the tomato flesh until the pieces are no larger than a lentil. Transfer them to a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl. As you finely mince the green peppers and red pepper, add them to the same sieve and let gravity pull away the excess liquid.
- 03
Tame the raw onion.
Toss the minced onion in a small bowl with a pinch of kosher salt and rub it gently with your fingers to deflate its harsh sulfurous bite before adding it to the sieve along with the smashed garlic.
- 04
Build the dressing.
In a large mixing bowl, vigorously whisk the olive oil, pomegranate molasses, lemon juice, pepper paste, tomato paste, Aleppo pepper, Urfa pepper, sumac, dried mint, and salt until it forms a thick, homogenous, deep-red paste.
- 05
Marry the relish just before serving.
Discard the vegetable liquid from the bowl beneath the sieve. Ten minutes before you sit down to eat, transfer the drained vegetables and fresh herbs into the dressing and gently fold them from the bottom up so every tiny morsel is coated without bruising.
Notes
Leave the food processor in the cabinet.
Mechanical blades crush cell walls and release enzymes that turn your vibrant vegetables into an oxidized, bitter soup; hand-chopping is completely non-negotiable here.
Source real pomegranate molasses.
Check the label at your local Middle Eastern market to ensure you are buying 100 percent pure pomegranate molasses, not a glucose-heavy pomegranate sauce.
From Turkish Heritage Kitchen.