Turkish Ezme Recipe

5 from 3 votes

Is it a salad? Or Is it a condiment? Turkish Ezme is a perfectly sweet, tangy, spicy and salty condiment that can be enjoyed as a dip, as a garnish on kebabs and grilled meats, or as a side dish. The recipe is quite customizable to suit your spice level.

Prep Time15

Total Time15

Course: Appetizer, condiment, Side Dish

Cuisine: Turkish

Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: people

Author: Luay Ghafari

Cost: $5

Ingredients

Dressing

2 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp Lemon juice
1 tbsp Pomegranate molasses
1 tbsp Tomato paste
1 tsp Aleppo Chili flake - See note
1 tsp Sumac
Kosher or sea salt and black pepper to taste

Main Ingredients

3 Roma tomatoes
1 Red bell pepper
1 Medium yellow onion - Or red onion
2 Carlic cloves
½ Flat leaf parsley

Instructions

Make dressing. Directly in your serving bowl, combine the extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, tomato paste, chili flakes, sumac, a big pinch of salt, and fresh cracked black pepper.
Chop. If your tomatoes are really juicy, consider removing the seeds as they will add too much liquid to the salad. Very finely chop the tomatoes, bell pepper, onion, parsley and garlic into tiny pieces.
Mix the salad. Add the chopped vegetables to the salad dressing bowl and combine.
Season and serve. Taste the salad and adjust the seasoning. You may need more salt and maybe more lemon juice depending on your preference.

Notes

Refer to the post above for step-by-step recipe photos.

Ingredient Notes:

Fresh Tomatoes: Use a paste-type tomato like a Roma or San Marzano. These tomatoes are very fleshy and have very low water content. If you must use regular vine or beefsteak tomatoes, I recommend cutting out the seeds to reduce the water content.
Bell Pepper: I am using a red bell pepper here, but you can certainly use green bell peppers or a combination of red or green.
Aleppo Pepper Flakes: This is an important ingredient for Levantine cuisine as well as Turkish cuisine. The Aleppo Pepper comes from Aleppo Syria, and goes by a few other names like Pul Biber and Halaby Pepper. It used to be difficult to find this chili flake, but it’s much easier now. You can find it at all Middle Eastern grocery stores and online. You can substitute with regular red pepper flakes too.
Sumac: Another important Middle Eastern spice. It’s also available at Middle Eastern grocers and even a well-stocked standard grocery store.
Pomegranate Molasses: A staple in every Middle Eastern, North African and Levantine kitchen. You can find bottled pomegranate molasses at most grocery stores (check the world foods aisle).

Other additions: red pepper paste, balsamic vinegar, fresh hot chili peppers.

Serve it with Turkish pide bread, warm Lebanese pita bread, or pita chips.

Food Processor? If you prefer, you can use a food processor to make this recipe. I don’t recommend it, but in a pinch, it’ll work. Just make sure you don’t over-process.

Nutrition