Almost Turkish Recipes

Green Peppers in Vinegar and Garlic Sauce (Sirkeli Biber)




I'm in Turkey and enjoying all the food I cannot find in the US and frequenting my hometown's twice-a-week farmers' market for fresh produce. It seems like July is a wonderful month for peppers of all kinds. Inspired by the exuberance of fresh peppers I am giving a simple recipe for a very popular and delicious salad/appetizer/meze, you name it. 






















The ingredients for the sauce are garlic, olive oil, and vinegar, and how much you will add of each depends completely on your preference. If you cannot handle garlic or vinegar well, you can go light on them. I like this salad medium garlicy, yet very vinegary, whereas my cousin's version is quite garlicy and not so much vinegary. The point is you have to decide on the amount of garlic and vinegar.

This salad is usually made during barbecue parties. First the peppers are roasted, and then while the meat is cooking the salad is prepared.

green or red peppers, as much as you want/have (In US I use poblanos or anaheim peppers, but anything would work)

garlic

vinegar (white or red grape, or apple), something strong

olive oil

You can make this salad two different ways; by either boiling or roasting the peppers. Roasted peppers taste, for sure, better, but if you don't have enough time boiled ones are not bad either.

-(1) Roast the green peppers in the oven or on the grill. Once cooled, peel the skin by hand. With some peppers this process is very easy, but with some it is challenging. Do your best, and don't worry if you cannot take all the skin off. After skinning cut the top off and seed the pepper if you like--I personally don't mind the seeds.

-(2) Pierce the peppers with a fork or a sharp knife once or twice and cook in boiling water for a couple of minutes, until soft but not falling apart. Cut the tops and seed them.

-Whichever method you follow (1) or (2), place peppers in a dish where peppers would not be overcrowded. Add salt, olive oil, vinegar, and crushed garlic. use olive oil as if you're dressing a salad.

For garlic you can use from 1/2 clove to 2 cloves for one pepper

For vinegar you can use from 3 tbsp to something between 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup-Serve with meat or on its own with fresh baked bread.

The salad keeps well in the fridge for 3-4 days, and gets even better in time.

19 comments:

  1. This is how we eat our peppers in New Mexico too!!!! Hatch green chiles fixed this way are always in the refrigerator, ready to be put on a burger, scrambled eggs, or just on crackers. I'm growing some peppers seeds I got last time I was in Turkey; can't wait to try them against Hatch chiles this fall!

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  2. Aylin9:07 AM

    Now I miss Turkey, where all the meals are so seasonal and fresh! Thanks for your recipes, they've been very useful for me since i moved.

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  3. Hope you're having a great time in Turkey. This looks like a great dish for this time of year when there are so many peppers.

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  4. Kilo--I've tried green chiles this way, though not sure if they were Hatch gc, and they were fantastic!

    Aylin--Thanks, Aylin, I'll stuff myself for you as well :)

    Kalyn--Nice to hear from you, Kalyn. I am having a wonderful time, and have more pepper recipes to post.

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  5. Enjoy your time in Turkey! I am jealous now! Wish I could be visiting the pazars as well

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  6. I am not familiar with turkish recipe but I think this is great just like korean recipe and indian recipe I never thought that I would love them. =)

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  7. Anonymous8:26 AM

    Peeling the roasted peppers, although not too hard, is still time consuming. Place the peppers in a closed bowl or a plastic bag for 5-10 minutes right after roasting them. The steam will make the skins slip right off.

    Great recipe!

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  8. I so miss this peppers, we have a very similar salad, but unfortunately it is very difficult to find this variety of pepper in the UK.
    Enjoy your stay at home!

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  9. I like it! It really entices my palate. Hope you've had a nice adventure there. :)

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  10. Whoa, its a good thing I've stumbled upon your blog before New Year. Will certainly prepare and surprise everyone with this. :D
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  11. This looks delicious!

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  12. Another great recipe! Thanks! I just posted a list of restaurants in my Culinary Corner. Should you get to Ankara, check out the list!

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  13. This screams of summer and warm sunshine.

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  14. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  15. yemeklerimizi tanıttığınız için tşk.. gerçekten bizim yemeklerimize hiç bir ülkenin yemekleri denk değil..

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  16. Hope you're having a great time in Turkey. This looks like a great dish for this time of year when there are so many peppers.
    Thanks for the nice recipe....

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  17. Enjoy your time in Turkey! I am jealous now! Wish I could be visiting the pazars as well

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