One of the challenges that many of us face living in Istanbul is a lack of access to products that we are familiar with, ranging from books, tv programs, the kind of underwear you prefer, medicines you need and of course the types of food you love to eat. As much as you want to immerse yourself in your new culture there is still the longing for the comforts of home. Obviously as a food-oriented person the lack of variety and access are the things that have affected me most. Having moved here directly from San Francisco, where we had access to the freshest, most diverse produce, as well as virtually every cuisine imaginable, the transition was hard. Thanks to my slueth-like ability to seek out foreign ingredients across the city, as well as collecting things while I travel, plus bringing things back from the states every time I go home, my pantry is fairly robust. This makes me a very popular guest at parties. I would like to think my sparkling personality has something to do with it, but I am a realist. So, when I got the message the other day that “Guy wants to know if you will make some food for his birthday party” I agreed. Not feeling terribly inspired, I looked to a new cookbook I had just purchased for ideas. One of the one ingredients of one recipe jumped out at me. Basil. I acquired a basil plant at a food festival this weekend and it seemed the perfect recipe to clip a few of its leaves. Thanks to The Vegetable Butcher by Cara Mangini for the inspiration.

Ingredients

Choose a mix of peppers for this recipe I used what I had available.

1 Red Bell Pepper

1 Yellow Bell Pepper

1 Kapya Pepper -a sweet red pepper grown in Turkey used in pepper paste called salca.

2 Sivri Peppers – a long green pepper grown in Turkey which can range from mild to fiery and you never know when buying what you might get!

2 Cloves of Garlic

½ Cup balsamic vinegar

½ Cup Olive Oil

¼ Teaspoon of Fine Sea Salt

A Few Twists of Fresh Black Pepper

20 Basil Leaves

Method

1. The first step is to fire roast the peppers. I did this over my gas stoves burners. You want to make sure the skin of the peppers are completely charred. If you don’t have a gas stove you can use your oven’s broiler as well. After the skins are charred put them in a metal mixing bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let them sit for 20 minutes.This will allow the peppers to soften and the char to sart to separate from the meat of the pepper.
2. Next thinly slice the garlic. I used our beautiful Black Sea garlic which has huge beautiful bulbs, if using normal garlic I would consider adding a few more cloves.
3. Combine the vinegar, sea salt and black pepper along with the garlic, let sit.
4. Bring your attention back to the peppers, over your kitchen sink remove the charred skin. Sometimes it helps to run some light water over it as you work.
5. Slice the peppers in half, remove the seeds and stem and slice the peppers into thin strips.
6. In a clean jar add all ingredients except the olive oil. Let the ingredients sit for a half an hour being sure they are all well coated.
7. Finally add the olive oil, for best results refrigerate overnight.

Serve on a crostini with fresh goat cheese. They would also be great on sandwiches.

Peppers are a staple in Turkish cooking, raw, sauteed, grilled, oil poached, pickled and stuffed, I don’t think I go a day without eating a pepper at some point. This recipe is a fresh non-Turkish twist on this abundant vegetable.