When life gives you vine-ripened, juicy, summer tomatoes, make (fill in the blank). By the way, what are you making with your summer tomatoes?
Today, I’ve incorporated those perfectly ripe tomatoes into a Turkish Spicy Ezme salad. It’s reminiscent of a Mexican salsa, albeit with few additions, namely sumac and pomegranate molasses (both of which impart a fruity-tart flavor). The pomegranate molasses, essentially pomegranate juice that has been reduced until thick and syrupy, also adds a hint of sweetness. I recommend looking for pomegranate molasses without added sugar. Not surprisingly, it’s a bit harder to find, but it’s out there.
No special equipment is needed to pull this salad together, other than a sharp knife to finely chop the ingredients. Ezme salad is a simple way to incorporate summer produce with minimal effort. You can make it as spicy as you like. I added two long red hot chiles, along with a pinch of red chile flakes and urfa biber chile powder (Urfa biber, often referred to as Urfa pepper, is a dried Turkish chile with a raisin-like, slightly smoky flavor). You can certainly use any fresh chile pepper or chile powder that you have on hand. This is one of those recipes that you can alter to suit your taste. Add more or less chile (depending on your desired level of heat), sumac, lemon juice, and/or pomegranate molasses; use your tastebuds as a guide.
In my ideal world, one in which I would have endless free time to experiment in the kitchen and grow a big garden, I foresee a table replete with an array of Mediterranean mezze to pair with this Turkish salad.
Turkish Spicy Ezme Salad
4 medium ripe tomatoes, finely chopped
1 medium white onion, finely chopped
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 medium green bell peppers, finely chopped
2 hot chiles, deseeded, finely chopped
¼ bunch of parsley, finely chopped
few sprigs fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablesoon pomegranate molasses
4 tablespoons olive oil
Salt to taste
½ tsp hot red pepper flakes
1 teaspoons sumac
Pita or flatbread for serving
Chop tomatoes, onion, garlic, green bell peppers, chiles, parsley, and mint as finely as you can. Combine ingredients in a bowl. Mix to combine. Drain liquid (don’t toss, it’s tasty). Mix lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, and olive oil in a bowl. Stir to combine. Add to the tomato mixture. Add salt and spices, mix well. Taste and make preferred adjustments. Chill salad in refrigerator for 30 minutes and serve with warm pita/flatbread.
