August 16, 2013

Istanbul. June, 2007


It was here in the Spice Bazaar that I found what I’d been looking for: Urfa or Isot pepper. Made from a dark purple Anatolian pepper that’s dried in the sunlight on rooftops during the day, sweated under covers at night, the pepper is then ground and looks like this dark brown spice you see here. I brought some home from my first trip to this magical city. And I loved it so much, I brought home six times as much when I visited again four years later. It adds a little bit of heat and a lot of subtle smokiness to every dish I use it in. I’m running low. May have to schedule another trip.

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