Villa Jerada Urfa Biber
50gm jar - Turkey
Smoky Urfa Biber pepper flakes from Urfa, Turkey
Top 10 pantry ingredient as noted by Yotem Ottolenghi's new cookbook, SIMPLE.
Soft and moist on the spoon, to the nose these sun dried Turkish pepper flakes are raisin’eee, a bit like saba, finishing with the tingle of heat. It is, after all, a pepper.
The texture is between flakes and grounds. To create this pepper it is harvested and then baked in the sun during the day and wrapped so it sweats in the night for a week. The result is a complex and well rounded profile.
This smoky, earthbound nuanced Urfa Biber pepper flake has hints of flavor to bring forth taste memories of chocolate and tobacco leaf. Really a very pleasant flavor with a bit of sweetness.
Aleppo, Turkey and Urfa, Turkey share the same climate/area and tasty mild/medium heat level. Sprinkled on summer vegetables, the Urfa Biber pepper flake has a deep rich dark reddish color that contributes to the presentation of your dish.
Think sweet or savory dishes in regards to this sun dried Turkish pepper flake. From grilled vegetables to cold pastas, this Urfa Biber pepper flake goes extremely well with crumbly cheeses like feta, and Urfa’s moist feel makes it a natural to add to foods uncooked. An essential ingredient for a Mediterranean lamb kabob, the Urfa Biber pepper flake in particular can pair perfectly with a chocolate like Cru Savage.
And if chocolate brownies are a love, just add salt and sun dried Turkish pepper flake to the recipe!
These peppers are a deep purple color, and they have a higher oil content than most peppers, which contributes to their outstanding flavor. They are picked and then dried in the sun and in the process they turn very dark purple, almost black, in color and develop an earthy, almost smoky aroma. The peppers are then ground.
The essential oils give it a rich, and deeply aromatic flavor.
product history
Located in the southeast of Turkey near the border of Syria, the Urfa region is pepper country, home to several varieties that are unique to the area and important ingredient in Turkish cuisine. Taking its name from the region, the urfa biber "Urfa Pepper" is prized for its flavor throughout Turkey.
This sun dried Turkish pepper flake is used in meat dishes as well as salads in its home country. With a moderate heat - It has more heat than paprika but significantly less than cayenne - it is a very versatile pepper to have in the kitchen.
You can use these sun dried Turkish pepper flakes in place of "red" pepper flakes in dishes that cry out for more flavor. Try the sun dried Turkish pepper flake as a finishing pepper in simple pasta dishes like those from Sicily and Southern Italy like pastas with garlic, anchovy and urfa pepper. The Urfa Biber pepper flake is also great as a finishing pepper for braised greens like kale, chard or mustard.
Findother Villa Jerada products here