Turkish ezme salata

Turkish ezme salata is a finely chopped Turkish salad (or relish) of capsicums, tomatoes, onion, chilli and herbs. Serve with warm Turkish bread or as accompaniment to kebabs or grilled meats.

Credit: Jiwon Kim

• serves

  6

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 2 red capsicums, roasted, deseeded (see Note)
• 4 tomatoes, roasted, deseeded (see Note)
• 1 white onion, finely chopped
• 1 birds’ eye chilli, finely chopped
• 1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• 1 small bunch mint, roughly chopped
• Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 lemon, juiced (to taste)
• Aleppo pepper, to sprinkle
• 1 tsp dried mint
• 1 tsp sumac
• Salt, to taste
• Grilled Turkish bread, to serve

Instructions

1. Finely chop the roasted capsicum and tomatoes and place in a large bowl with the onion, chilli, parsley and mint. Toss lightly with a generous drizzle of olive oil to combine.
   
2. In a small jug, combine the pomegranate molasses, tomato paste, half the lemon juice, a pinch of Aleppo pepper, dried mint, sumac and a generous pinch of salt. Whisk well to combine and season to taste with more salt and lemon juice, if desired.
   
3. Drizzle as much of the dressing as you like over the bowl with the roasted vegetables and toss lightly to dress. Allow to stand for about 30-40 minutes before serving.
   
4. To serve, transfer the ezme salata to a serving platter. Serve with the grilled Turkish bread.
   

Note

• To roast the capsicum and tomatoes, preheat the oven to 220˚C (fan-forced). Place capsicums on a lined baking tray and roast for 5 minutes before adding tomatoes to the oven and roast for a further 10 minutes. Once both are charred, remove from oven, set aside until cool enough to handle and peel the skin from the capsicums and tomatoes. Deseed both and set aside until ready to use.

Photography by Jiwon Kim.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.