Turkish Ezme (Chopped Tomato Meze)

Ingredients

• 1 can Mutti polpa (finely chopped tomatoes) (400g can recommended)
• 1 red onion (roughly chopped before blending; rub in salt to remove bitterness)
• 2 green peppers (can also use red peppers; roughly chopped before blending)
• 60 ml olive oil
• 1 tbsp Mutti double concentrate tomato and garlic purée (domates salçası)
• 1 tbsp spicy pepper paste (biber salçası)
• 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses (nar ekşisi)
• 0.5 tsp pul biber (Aleppo pepper)
• 0.5 tsp isot (optional - Urfa chili flakes)
• 0.5 tsp sumac
• 0.5 tsp dried mint
• 0.5 lemon juice (juice of half a lemon)
• salt (a pinch, plus extra for rubbing onions)
• 1 handful fresh parsley (finely chopped, plus extra for garnish)

Steps

1. 1

   Roughly chop the red onion and green peppers. Rub the chopped onion with a little salt to remove the bitter taste.

2. 2

   Place the chopped onion, green peppers, and the can of Mutti polpa (chopped tomatoes) into a food processor.

3. 3

   Pulse the mixture together briefly. Careful not to blend it too much; you want the vegetables to be finely chopped but still retain some texture and crunch.

4. 4

   Transfer the blended vegetable mixture into a fine-mesh sieve. Lightly mix and let it sit to drain off the excess juices.

5. 5

   In a separate jar or small bowl, prepare the sauce by combining the olive oil, tomato and garlic purée, spicy pepper paste, pomegranate molasses, pul biber, isot (if using), sumac, dried mint, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt.

6. 6

   Add the finely chopped parsley to the sauce and give it a very good mix until well combined.

7. 7

   Transfer the sieved vegetables to a serving bowl and pour the prepared sauce over them.

8. 8

   Mix everything together thoroughly. Top with additional fresh parsley before serving.

Notes

The author suggests serving this with grilled köfte, Adana kebap, lavash bread, and a sumac salad. Rubbing the onions in salt before blending is a key tip to remove bitterness.

Nutrition per serving

• appetizer
• meze
• vegetarian
• vegan
• gluten-free
• Turkish
• no-cook
• side dish