Grilled Peppers with Garlic Yogurt

This dish is very much in the Turkish spirit of mixing warm vegetables with cool, garlicky yogurt. Various types of peppers will work.

This is a typical Turkish way to use grilled peppers. Turkish cuisine features cool, garlicky yogurt with warm vegetables. You can use a mix of peppers for this (in Turkey, longish, thin-skinned green peppers are the norm), and you don’t have to stick to sweet peppers, though I prefer the sweet against the pungent yogurt.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ pounds mixed sweet peppers
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1 cup Greek yogurt or drained yogurt
• 2 to 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, to taste
• 2 to 4 garlic cloves, mashed in a mortar and pestle with a generous pinch of salt
• Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
• Chopped fresh dill, parsley or mint

Serves 4 to 6

Preparation

1. Grill peppers over coals, under a broiler or over a gas flame until blackened. Remove from heat and place in a bowl. Cover bowl and allow peppers to sit for 15 minutes.
2. Skin peppers, cut in half and remove seeds and membranes, holding peppers over bowl to catch juices. Cut lengthwise into wide strips and place in a bowl. Strain juice into bowl with peppers and season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. In a mortar and pestle, purée garlic with a generous pinch of salt. Stir into the yogurt. Add lemon juice.
4. Arrange peppers on a platter or on individual plates. Spoon yogurt on top, drizzle on a little olive oil, garnish with chopped herbs if desired and serve.