You have a plain hamburger on a bun. What other stuff do you put on top? Me, cheddar cheese, thin slice of onion,

[Celerity]

61. Cranberry Ezme (Turkish Cranberry Relish Recipe)

https://cinnamonsnail.com/turkish-cranberry-relish/



This cranberry ezmesi doesn't just sneak in comfortably on your holiday table between the vegan green bean casserole and candied yams. No, my dear mommy, that's not it at all. It's also downright silly-tasty spread in the center of mutabal or vegan labneh for a glorious autumnal mezze. You and your guests are going to be quite psyched at this more flavorful departure from tired old plain-Jane cranberry sauce this Thanksgiving. The fact that this stuff takes very little work to get together? Too darned dope, indeed. Let's get this blended!

What is ezme?

Ezme is a traditional Turkish condiment, usually served alongside grilled meats or as part of a mezze spread. The classic Acılı Ezme is a super finely chopped, spicy salad made with fresh, ripe tomatoes, onions, and peppers, mixed with olive oil, lemon juice, and pomegranate molasses. You can kinda think of it as Turkey's answer to very finely minced pico de gallo: it's both bright and tangy, with a bit of a kick from the chilies and a slight sweetness from the pomegranate. I knew creating a cranberry ezme for Thanksgiving would be tasty, but until I tested it a few different ways, I had no idea that I would be screaming from the rooftops how bangin' it is. I am pretty sure I like it even more than my bourbon cranberry sauce, which says a lot. Because it's not a cooked cranberry condiment, ezme balances the heavily cooked components that are typically part of everyone's holiday feast. I seriously can't wait for you to make it and fall head over heels in love with the stuff!

Ingredients for Turkish cranberry relish

Cranberries
Cranberries, which are called Kızılcık in Turkish, are best when fresh. But I have tested with frozen cranberries too, and it turns out deliciously, with just a slightly different texture. If you have some leftover after making this recipe, I highly reccomend using them to bake up a rustic cranberry galette!

Orange
You can use either navel oranges or blood oranges in this recipe. I have served some super good grapefruit ezmesi at my Galactic MegaStallion pop-ups, and you can definitely use those here too.

Parsley
Parsley is a critical, irreplaceable flavor component of ezme, and in this recipe, we are gonna use plenty of it! I am on team flat leaf all the way, but I know sometimes curly parsley is cheaper, so if you want to use that, go right ahead. Just never ever use dried parsley for anything other than as confetti at a parade. Because it has slightly less flavor than torn-up paper, and quite frankly, it just sucks.

Red Onion and Garlic
Oh yeah! Flavor-wise, the fresh onion and garlic in this recipe make it super different from regular cranberry sauce, but they add a ton of bright pungency to the condiment that makes it way better for perking up your (kinda creepy) human-baby-shaped tofu turkey or vegan fried chicken.

Brown Sugar
There are a quite a bit of acidic flavors in this condiment, from the sumac to cranberries and lemon juice, so a little sweetener is essential for balancing the ezme. While you can 100% use regular brown sugar in this recipe, I prefer using coconut sugar. It's a lower-glycemic sweetener. This means it isn't going to spike your blood sugar as much, which is the cause of the traditional after-Thanksgiving energy crash.

Pomegranate Molasses
Pomegranate molasses is a staple in classic Turkish recipes like kisir and bulgur pilavı. It gives a sweet, pleasantly bitter, and slightly tart flavor to the ezme recipe. If you can't get pomegranate molasses, you can substitute equal parts maple syrup and lemon juice to achieve a similar sweet-tart taste.

Mint
Just like in my yalya çorbası recipe (Turkish yogurt soup), I use both dried and fresh mint in this recipe. The fresh stuff is just used as a garnish, so you can skip it if you are on a budget.

Aleppo Pepper Flakes (Pul Biber)
If you haven't cooked with these soft, more flavorful-than-hot red pepper flakes, you are going to seriously fall in love. Aleppo pepper brings a mild heat and fruity undertones, which make it an ideal spice for Turkish dishes like Taze Fasulye Tarifi. The closest substitute is gochugaru, the Korean chili flakes that are famously used for making vegan kimchi and Korean BBQ sauce.

Sumac
Sumac is a tart, tangy spice used in Middle Eastern recipes like bolani bread to add brightness, much like lemon, without adding extra liquid. Its citrusy flavor boosts and diversifies the tanginess of the cranberries. If you can't find sumac, the best replacement is amchur - the dried green mango powder used in vegan Indian recipes like aloo tikki chaat and sukha kala chana.

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