Atom Meze
In this dish, dried cayenne peppers are sautéd in butter, then served with garlic yoghurt.
About this Recipe
Atom meze takes its name from its heat (like an atom bomb!). In this dish, dried cayenne peppers – Arnavut Biberi in Turkish – are sautéd in butter, then served on a bed of garlic-infused strained yoghurt. As soon as you taste it, its heat creates – an “atom” effect – in your mouth, and no matter how hot it is, you don’t want to stop eating it. You have been warned!
SERVES 2
PREP TIME: 5 MINS
COOK TIME: 20 MINS
Hot peppers are known for their appetite enhancing effect. For this reason, atom meze is one of the first mezes served in restaurants. Even though most spicy dishes originate from southeastern Turkey, atom meze derives from İzmir, a city famous for its healthy and light recipes made with olive oil. You will likely come across this appetiser in every fish restaurant in Izmir without exception. At home, we have it during breakfast.
Traditionally dried chillies, more specifically cayenne dried peppers are used for this dish. They are known for their extreme heat. Even though I am from a city famous for its fiery hot dishes, I have my limits. That’s why I use whole dried sivri pepper – a type of pepper with a heat ranging from mild to a very hot cayenne heat – in this recipe. However, if you would like to use dried cayenne peppers, you can find them easily online. You should look out for slightly softer ones when buying. Over-dried ones will be too crunchy when fried and won’t be palatable. If the peppers are really hot, you can remove the seeds before frying. This will reduce its heat.
Ingredients
- 12 whole dried sivri peppers (6 per person) (see note)
- 250 g of süzme yoghurt or thick natural yoghurt (see note)
- 1 small clove of garlic, crushed
- A pinch of salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (see note)
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1
First boil the whole dried sivri peppers in plenty of water for 15 minutes. Then dry them with a kitchen towel.
Step 2
After removing the heads, chop the dried peppers into 2 – 3 pieces.
Step 3
Put the yoghurt in a bowl and loosen it thoroughly with a whisk or a fork. Add garlic and salt, then mix it well. Transfer it to shallow serving bowl.
Step 4
Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the dried peppers and sauté them for few minutes, stirring constantly.
Step 5
Add butter and red pepper flakes. Carry on stirring until the butter is melted and the dried peppers are slightly crispy.
Step 6
Pour the pepper butter mix over the yoghurt and serve it with toasted bread while it’s still warm.
Notes
Süzme yoghurt: It’s a thick Turkish yoghurt that has been strained to remove its whey. As a result, it has a thicker consistency compared with regular yoghurt. In big supermarkets it’s sold as strained yoghurt.
Sivri peppers: They are available online as well as in Turkish and Middle Eastern shops. You can dry them in the sun during summer time and store them for winter.
Red pepper flakes: These flakes have a moderate heat. You can find them in Turkish or Middle Eastern shops. Ground cayenne powder can be used as a substitute. Use half as much ground cayenne to achieve the same level of heat. You can find more information about this here.
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SABAH KAHVALTISINDA,ÖĞLEN YEMEĞİNDE,AKŞAM YEMEĞİNDE HAFİF MEZE OLARAK HER DAİM YENİLEBİLİR LEZZET MUHTEŞEM
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