Aleppo Pepper

Cooking Discussions Cooking, Cookbooks, Ingredients
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I’ve always been curious about this spice, and I finally spotted some at a specialty grocer. Now what?

Would anyone please be so kind as to suggest their favorite prep/recipe for this ingredient? Is there a classic dish from the Levant that uses it?

Thanks,
Ignorantly,
Kaleo

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I use it as a condiment; I’m especially fond of it on scrambled eggs. (I have no idea how it’s traditionally used though.)

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Scrambled or over-easy eggs
Any marinade in which you want a bit of a bite (but not as strong as red pepper flakes)
Sprinkle on top of baked potatoes
Toss Yukon Gold potatoes with olive oil, salt and Aleppo and roast
Mix into ground lamb for kofte
Roast a mess of carrots after tossing with olive oil, and then toss with some pom molasses and Aleppo pepper, salt and parsley

Here’s a spice rub mix from Chef Ana Sortun of Oleana Restaurant in Boston.

  • Exported from MasterCook *

                           Kebob Spice Mix

Recipe By :Ana Sortun
Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Herb/Spice Mix Lamb

Amount Measure Ingredient – Preparation Method

2 Tbsps ground cumin
2 Tbsps dried oregano – sieved
2 Tbsps dried mint flakes – sieved
1 Tbsp Aleppo chile pepper
1 Tbsp black pepper

In a small bowl, combine all the spices. Store this spice mixture in an airtight container out of direct light for up to 3 months.

Source:
““Spice: Flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean” cookbook”
Yield:
“1/2 c”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

NOTES : “The dried mint makes this spice mix taste very Turkish; it’s excellent on any grilled meats, especially beef or lamb. At Oleana, we use it on sirloin, skirt, and rib-eye steaks as well as in ground lamb or beef kebobs, also called kofte (see the Ground Beef and Pistachio Kebobs on pg. 236). The combination of spices in this recipe will also work well with any kind of dried bean; it’s particularly tasty when added to black bean soup, bean chili, or any other bean soup. Use this spice mix generously.”

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Aleppo peppers are wonderful!!!

I use tons. I use it when cooking both Moroccan and Turkish dishes. It is an essential ingredient in Harissa which I use to spice up tomato sauces and is essential when making Merguez sausages. The soup [which I call Ramadan soup, but is really called Harira] must have some, as must the Turkish red Lentil soup Ezogelin Cobras. Add to roasted eggplant dips, hummus, yogurt dips or labna, sprinkle on flatbreads before baking. Add anywhere you want a warm, spicy glow.

I love that it is a warm taste with some interesting heat. I often combine with Urfa peppers to get a full range of floral notes. Urfa peppers may actually be more used in my kitchen than Aleppos.

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I sprinkle it on grilled pineapple. I think I learned that from a Dorie Greenspan recipe. In my opinion, it goes stale quickly. More like the texture goes stale quickly, if that makes sense.

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Thank you all very much!

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For years, I read posts on CH and, more recently, here, where Americans would mention Aleppo pepper. Couldnt find it on sale in the UK - not even from specialist mail order suppliers. That said, I wasn’t all that fussed. I enjoy Middle Eastern food and none of my cookbooks mentioned the spice, so I reckoned I wasnt missing that much.

By co-incidence, only last week, I saw another mention of it and decided to Google. Now I found a couple of online suppliers. But, more importantly, they were advertising mainly under a Turkish name of “pul biber”. So, off I went to the shop that sells Eastern Mediterranean products, a few minutes drive away. And there it was. So, I’m now the proud owner of 150g of Aleppo pepper/pul biber, at a cost of £2.20.

All I need now are, like Kaleo, some recipes.

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I use it a lot as the finishing touch to a gratin, especially one with a pale finish to it. It really doesn’t have much I can taste in the way of flavor, but a good sprinkling of it over a pan of cauliflower in butter and garlic or anything finished with cream or cheese sauce just makes it more inviting. By the way, if you have a middle-eastern market handy you can buy seven-ounce plastic shaker jars of it for about half what the fancy-spice places charge for around an eighth that much in a tiny bottle. I usually get the Sadaf brand. Probably not Penzey’s quality but I sure can’t tell the difference.

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