Ezme: Turkish Chopped Pepper and Chilli Salad

With our Big Chilli Weekend coming up this weekend I thought I'd share a recipe that takes advantage of the wonderful hot chilli peppers that are now in their prime. Here's something we made recently on our new Turkish class: a salad of tomatoes, peppers and hot chillies seasoned with parsley and pomegranate syrup. It's easy to put together but the combination of chilli, parsley and pomegranate make the flavours so exciting. A great addition to any Turkish meal.

Ezme

Ingredients:

• 3 ripe tomatoes
• 1 green pepper
• 1 red chilli (or to your taste)
• A handful of chopped parsley
• 2 chopped spring onions or half a red onion
• 1 tbsp pomegranate syrup or a sweet and sour jam such as quince or Sour Cherry (from Turkish stores)
• 2-3 tbsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Method:

1. Finely chop all of the vegetables and herbs and combine in a bowl with a generous pinch of salt.
2. Stir in the pomegranate or sour jam to taste. Keep tasting and adjust the salt, cherry or pomegranate and oil.