Mediterranean flavors bloom at Siena Farms

In Sudbury, Massachusetts, Ana Sortun and Chris Kurth transform their pepper harvest into bold, global dishes inspired by Turkish tradition.

IT TURNS OUT. HERE’S TED REINSTEIN THIS BOWL OF PEPPERS IS JOURNEYING FROM FARM TO TABLE. THE SEEDS ARE WHERE MOST OF THE HEAT ARE. 2025 HAS BEEN A GREAT YEAR FOR PEPPERS AT THE 50 ACRE SIENNA FARMS IN SUDBURY, MASSACHUSETTS. OWNER CHRIS KURTH, THE HOT SUMMER DROUGHT WAS VERY BENEFICIAL TO THE PEPPERS. WE HAD DRIP IRRIGATION SET UP ON THEIR FEET ALL SUMMER LONG. CUT ONE OPEN, CHECK ON THE INSIDE. FIRST CULTIVATED IN THE AMERICAS 6000 YEARS AGO TODAY, PEPPERS ARE UNSUNG KITCHEN HEROES. PEPPERS REALLY ARE USED IN EVERY CUISINE OF THE WORLD. THIS YEAR WE GREW FIVE DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF PEPPERS OUT OF THE WHAT I THINK IS 3 TO 5000 VARIETIES OF PEPPERS THAT EXISTS CURRENTLY ON OUR PLANET IN THE US. SWEET BELL VARIETIES DOMINATE. THAT’S KIND OF THE MOST BORING FORM OF PEPPER YOU CAN EAT, BUT THEY’RE UBIQUITOUS IN OUR FOOD CULTURE. THEY’RE THE EASIEST TO GROW. MANY PEPPERS, INCLUDING BELL AND THE MILDLY FLAVORED JAPANESE SHISHITO, START OUT GREEN AS THEY RIPEN. COLORS DEEPEN. IF YOU LET THE SHISHITOS RIPEN, YOU GET THIS BEAUTIFUL, SWEET, SWEET SHISHITO THAT’S ABOUT TEN TIMES THE FLAVOR. ONE OF THE GAMES OF FARMING IS NOT BITING OFF MORE THAN YOU CAN CHEW. METAPHORICALLY, YOU COULD SPEND YOUR WHOLE LIFE GROWING JUST PEPPERS AND STUDYING JUST PEPPERS, AND YOU NEVER GET BORED. THERE’S A LOT THERE. KURTZ SUPPLIES PEPPERS TO HIS FAVORITE CHEF, ANNA WATERTOWN, WHO’S ALSO HIS WIFE. NORTON IS A JAMES BEARD AWARD WINNER WHO HELMS OLEANA IN CAMBRIDGE. SHE’S ALSO CO-FOUNDER OF SOFRA BAKERY AND CAFE IN CAMBRIDGE AND ALLSTON, AND SHE’S RENOWNED FOR HER FARM DRIVEN EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN CUISINE. I GO BACK TO TURKEY ONCE OR TWICE A YEAR, EVERY YEAR. IT’S A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION FOR ME. IT’S TRUE. IF YOU LIKE TURKISH FOOD, YOU LIKE PEPPERS. IT’S HARD TO GET A MEAL WITHOUT PEPPERS IN IT. GEORGETOWN PUTS SIENNA FARMS PEPPERS TO GREAT USE. THERE’S MANY DIFFERENT FLAVORS THAT A PEPPER CAN PROVIDE, AND THEN THERE’S ALSO DIFFERENT TEXTURES DEPENDING ON HOW FERMENTED IT IS OR NOT. WHEN IT’S DRIED, IT ADDS A LOT. EZME IS A SPICY CHOPPED PEPPER RELISH. IT’S THIS MIXTURE OF ROASTED PEPPERS AND RAW PEPPERS. GEORGETOWN USES ESCAMILLO SWEET AND BEST FOR FRYING HUNGARIAN HOT WAX FOR A BIT OF HEAT AND ROASTED POBLANO, PULL THE SKIN OFF, CHOP THEM UP. IT ALMOST LOOKS LIKE CHOPPED GREEN CHILIES. I ALWAYS JUST TAKE THE SEEDS OUT OF THE POBLANO AS WELL, AND I NEVER RINSED THE PEPPERS EVER BECAUSE YOU JUST RINSING AWAY THE OIL AND THE FLAVOR, SHE ADDS. RED PEPPER PASTE, TOMATOES, SCALLIONS, POMEGRANATE MOLASSES, OLIVE OIL, CUMIN, AND MIRAGE. A DRIED PEPPER. YOU WANT TO BE ABLE TO EAT IT WITH A SPOON. IT’S ALMOST LIKE MAKING A SALSA. BASICALLY. SO TUEMAY ALSO BLISTERED SHISHITO PEPPERS FOR A HEALTHY SNACK, PAIRING THEM WITH HOT PEPPER, LABNEH, A YOGURT, AND ZHOUG, AN HERB INFUSED GREEN CHILI SAUCE. THIS IS JUST A LITTLE BIT OF THE THE REALLY THICK YOGURT WITH THESE HUNGARIAN HOT WAX THAT ARE ROASTED AND CHOPPED UP, I LOVE LOTS OF DRIED MINT ON THIS. I LIKE TO JUST TAKE THEM. THEY’VE BEEN BLISTERED. THEY’RE SALTED AND KIND OF DRAG THEM THROUGH A LITTLE HOT PEPPER, LABNEH AND ZUG. YUM. DELICIOUS. FOR CERTAIN. KURTH AND PEPPER ENTHUSIASTS EVERYWHERE. VARIETY IS TRULY THE SPICE OF LIFE. IT’S A PLEASURE TO TO BE PART OF THAT PROCESS AND AND AN HONOR TO WORK WITH ANNA AND HER TEAM AND SEE THE BEAUTIFUL THINGS THAT THEY DO WITH OUR VEGGIES. IT’S PRETTY SPECIAL TO BE PART OF. WOW. AND IN TURKISH CUISINE, ANNA STOUGHTON SAYS THAT PEPPERS ARE EVERYDAY FLAVOR BUILDERS EVERYWHERE. PEPPER FLAKES ARE ON THE TABLE, KIND OF LIKE SALT SPRINKLED OVER YOUR EGGS OR YOUR MEAT, YOUR VEGETABLES, THE WHOLE THING. AND PEPPER PASTE IS USED IN SO MANY RECIPES THAT, YOU KNOW, PEPPER REALLY IS SORT OF THE

Mediterranean flavors bloom at Siena Farms

In Sudbury, Massachusetts, Ana Sortun and Chris Kurth transform their pepper harvest into bold, global dishes inspired by Turkish tradition.

Updated: 8:12 PM EST Nov 4, 2025

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At Siena Farms in Sudbury, Massachusetts, a bountiful pepper harvest is inspiring flavorful creations in chef Ana Sortun’s Eastern Mediterranean cuisine.”The hot summer drought was very beneficial to the peppers,” said farm owner Chris Kurth. “We had drip irrigation set up on their feet all summer long.” The result: colorful, flavorful varieties that thrive under tough conditions.Peppers, first cultivated in the Americas 6,000 years ago, now appear in nearly every cuisine. “We grew five different varieties this year out of thousands that exist worldwide,” Kurth said. Though sweet bell peppers dominate U.S. markets, he admits they’re “the most boring form of pepper — but the easiest to grow at scale.”Many peppers, like bell and shishito, start green and deepen in color as they ripen. “If you let the shishitos ripen, you get this beautiful, sweet flavor — about 10 times the taste,” Kurth said.Kurth’s harvest supplies his wife, Ana Sortun, the James Beard Award-winning chef behind Oleana in Cambridge and co-founder of Sofra Bakery and Café. “If you like Turkish food, you like peppers,” Sortun said. “It’s hard to get a meal without them.”Sortun transforms the farm’s peppers into dishes like ezme, a spicy relish of roasted and raw peppers, tomato, cumin, and marash pepper. She also blisters shishitos and pairs them with hot pepper labneh and zhoug. “Delicious,” she said.For both farmer and chef, peppers represent the link between soil, flavor, and craft. “It’s a pleasure to be part of that process,” Kurth said. “Seeing what Ana and her team do with our veggies is pretty special.”

SUDBURY, Mass. —

At Siena Farms in Sudbury, Massachusetts, a bountiful pepper harvest is inspiring flavorful creations in chef Ana Sortun’s Eastern Mediterranean cuisine.

“The hot summer drought was very beneficial to the peppers,” said farm owner Chris Kurth. “We had drip irrigation set up on their feet all summer long.” The result: colorful, flavorful varieties that thrive under tough conditions.

Peppers, first cultivated in the Americas 6,000 years ago, now appear in nearly every cuisine. “We grew five different varieties this year out of thousands that exist worldwide,” Kurth said. Though sweet bell peppers dominate U.S. markets, he admits they’re “the most boring form of pepper — but the easiest to grow at scale.”

Many peppers, like bell and shishito, start green and deepen in color as they ripen. “If you let the shishitos ripen, you get this beautiful, sweet flavor — about 10 times the taste,” Kurth said.

Kurth’s harvest supplies his wife, Ana Sortun, the James Beard Award-winning chef behind Oleana in Cambridge and co-founder of Sofra Bakery and Café. “If you like Turkish food, you like peppers,” Sortun said. “It’s hard to get a meal without them.”

Sortun transforms the farm’s peppers into dishes like ezme, a spicy relish of roasted and raw peppers, tomato, cumin, and marash pepper. She also blisters shishitos and pairs them with hot pepper labneh and zhoug. “Delicious,” she said.

For both farmer and chef, peppers represent the link between soil, flavor, and craft. “It’s a pleasure to be part of that process,” Kurth said. “Seeing what Ana and her team do with our veggies is pretty special.”