Ezme is a name of a diced vegetable “salad” that originates from Turkey. I’ve seen versions in other countries, but the Turkish version is slightly different. The word ezme translates to crushed or mashed, and sometimes the salad called ezme looks more like a tomato-based salsa or relish. It’s typically served with grilled meats, bread, or hummus.
Ezme utilizes ripe tomatoes with onion, red bell pepper, and sometimes chile peppers. The seasonings are sumac, Aleppo pepper, and pomegranate molasses. It’s simple and delicious!
I discovered a recipe for ezme on the blog Urban Farm and Kitchen that seemed perfect. The blog’s author is Palestine-born Luay Ghafari, who is a cook, recipe developer, gardener and photographer. His favorite cuisines are Mediterranean and Levantine cuisines.
Ghafari published a cookbook in 2023 called Seed to Table, which is highly rated on Amazon.
A food processor can be used in a pinch. According to Ghafari, “Just make sure you don’t over-process. The salad/condiment still needs to have a little bite to it.”
Serve the ezme with lavash, pita bread, or flatbread. Ghafari recommends pita bread, but when I visited Sahadi’s in Brooklyn, New York, I bought many versions of lavash, so that’s what I’m using.
I used this opportunity to use a Turkish product called sour cherry molasses. It is maybe even better than pomegranate molasses!
Ezme, or Turkish Vegetable Salad
Dressing:
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp Aleppo chili flakes
1 tsp sumac
Kosher or sea salt and black pepper to taste
Salad:
3 Roma tomatoes
1 red bell pepper
1 medium yellow onion
2 garlic cloves
Flat leaf parsley
Bread, for serving
Hummus, for serving (optional)
Labneh, for serving (optional)
In a medium 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 to make the dressing.
Very finely chop the tomatoes, bell pepper, onion, garlic and parsley into tiny pieces.
If your tomatoes are really juicy, consider removing the seeds as they will add too much liquid to the salad. (I used paper towels to mop off excess liquid.)
Add the chopped vegetables to the salad dressing bowl and combine.
Taste the salad and adjust the seasoning. You may need more salt and maybe more lemon juice depending on your preference.
I served the ezme with hummus and labneh.
This ezme recipe is pure perfection. I didn’t adjust the seasoning at all. Thank you Luay Ghafari! I’ll be making this again.
