Turkish Charred Eggplant and Pepper Meze with Garlic Yogurt and Walnuts

Char the whole eggplants and peppers directly over a gas flame, on a hot grill or under a broiler, turning every few minutes for 15 to 20 minutes until the skins are blackened all over and the flesh has fully collapsed.

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 3 medium eggplants (about 2 pounds)
• 3 red bell peppers
• 1 1/2 cups thick strained yogurt
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed to a paste with a pinch of salt
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper flakes
• 2/3 cup walnut halves, toasted and roughly broken
• 1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• Warm flatbread, to serve

Instructions

1. Char the whole eggplants and peppers directly over a gas flame, on a hot grill or under a broiler, turning every few minutes for 15 to 20 minutes until the skins are blackened all over and the flesh has fully collapsed.
2. Put the peppers in a bowl, cover tightly and let them steam for 10 minutes, which loosens the skins so they slip off cleanly.
3. Set the eggplants in a colander with a slit cut down each one and let them drain for 15 minutes; the bitter dark liquid that runs out is exactly what you do not want in the finished meze.
4. Peel and seed the peppers and chop the flesh finely, discarding any blackened flakes that cling on.
5. Scoop the eggplant flesh away from the skins, chop it on a board rather than blending it so the meze keeps some texture, then combine with the peppers in a bowl.
6. Stir the olive oil, lemon juice and salt through the vegetables and taste; smoky eggplant takes more salt and acid than you expect.
7. In a separate bowl, beat the strained yogurt with the crushed garlic paste until smooth and loose enough to spoon.
8. Spread the vegetable mixture across a shallow serving dish, then spoon the garlic yogurt over the top and swirl the two together with the back of a spoon, leaving distinct ribbons rather than mixing them fully.
9. Scatter the toasted walnuts and chopped parsley over the surface, dust with Aleppo pepper and finish with a generous drizzle of olive oil.
10. Serve at room temperature with warm flatbread for scooping.
11. Meze culture rewards patience with fire: almost every great Turkish vegetable dish begins with something blackened to the point of ruin and then rescued. Charring eggplant this hard is not about cooking it through, it is about pushing smoke into the flesh, which is why oven-roasting alone never quite tastes right. Late summer, when eggplant and peppers are cheapest and heaviest at the market, is the season this dish was built around, and it improves after a few hours in the fridge as the garlic mellows into the yogurt.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 268 kcal
• Protein: 8g
• Fat: 19g
• Carbohydrates: 19g
• Fiber: 7g
• Sugar: 11g
• Sodium: 440mg