For those of you who are yet to be acquainted with the delights of the Ezmé here's the deal.“ 'Ezmé' is a traditional Turkish meze dish that translates to 'mashed'. It's somewhere between a raw salsa and a relish, but let's do away with the labels and just get to making and eating the dish.
Surprisingly, making a 'mashed' salad requires no mashing but a lot of chopping. Whacking all the ingredients in a blender and hoping for the best may save you time but it's a bit like trying to pass off shop-bought falafel as homemade -you're fooling no one. So, make sure you have a sharp, double handled knife to hand.
Ezme Recipe
Ingredients:
- 2 tomatoes
- 1 onion
- 1 clove of garlic
- 2 chili peppers
- ¼ bunch of parsley
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
- 1 tsp pepper paste
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Salt to taste
- ½ tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp sumac
- A pinch of dried mint
Instructions:
Peel the tomatoes (it's a must, we're sorry) Kitchn gives us their top tips for this here.
Chop the tomatoes, onion, garlic, chili peppers and parsley as finely as you possibly can, the finer the better. Mix them in a bowl.
In another bowl, mix lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, olive oil and pepper paste until smooth. Add this mixture into the salad. Add salt and spices and mix well. Chill it in the refrigerator for half an hour and serve.
It's a refreshing addition to any raki table and can be enjoyed as simply as with bread and a glass of Yeni Rakı.
Share, savour, enjoy!